


Written Down in Story and Rhyme

by aisydays



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, F/F, Happy Ending, Romance, canon typical peril, fairytale inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:06:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26375437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aisydays/pseuds/aisydays
Summary: There is a tower in the woods that nobody speaks about. There are rumours of a lost princess, and a fearsome beast. And somewhere, across the waves, there is a paladin waiting to prove herself on the quest of a lifetime. Yet nothing is quite as straight-forward as the storybooks make it out to be, and there may be more dangers awaiting Azu than she could ever imagine.
Relationships: Azu & Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom & Zolf Smith, Azu/Sasha Racket, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Sasha Racket
Comments: 20
Kudos: 18
Collections: Rusty Quill Big Bang 2020





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written for the 2020 Rusty Quill Big Bang and, as a result, I have some people to thank! Firstly, the amazing moderators who made this all happen - without you this would never have come to be! Secondly, my wonderful beta reader Meg (Jothowwrote), whose support and constructive criticism not only kept me going, but also made this fic so much better - thank her for the distinct lack of overlong sentences and missing punctuation.
> 
> Finally, I'd like to thank my Incredible artist Lys! The art she made was absolutely AMAZING and can be found in Chapter Three of this fic, and if you'd like to see more, check out her Twitter @TheLysdom. 
> 
> The title of this fic is taken from the song "Non-Existent Times" by Reesha Dyer. It came out as I was writing and perfectly summed up the entire mood of this fic, so give it a listen!

There is a story about the tower in the woods. Every child in the land knows it, even if their parents would box them round the ears if they ever caught them discussing it. It is a story reserved only for night-time, for huddling around campfires spreading wild rumours, or whispering to terrified siblings in the middle of a storm. 

The older inhabitants of Ludenwic do not speak about the tower. Not since the tragic night, so many years ago. They remember all too well the attack on the palace, the screams that rent the quiet summer night like a knife through the stillness, startling townsfolk out of their slumber and into the streets. The plumes of smoke that billowed up from the building that loomed over their lives - once ever present and majestic, now glowing with the embers of a fire that ripped through what had once been believed to be so secure, so impenetrable.

The fire burned all through the night, and long into the next day, despite all attempts to quell it. Once the smoke had cleared and the awful heat had died away, then came the wailing. The fire had been started by a group of invaders, mercenaries presumably hired by some rival lands who seemed to have dissipated like the smoke. But unlike the smoke, which vanished with no trace into the air, the attackers left their mark. The Lord and Lady of the town, who had protected and provided for the town for years, had been slain in the night by the unknown assailants, and their only heir, a daughter only a few months old, had been taken. In the chaos that followed, the town had no choice but to turn to the Lady’s brother, the newly appointed Lord Barrett, who accepted his new position with practised modesty.

It was he who built the tower, ordering its construction as soon as work had finished on the castle. According to Lord Barrett and his advisors, it would stand guard against any further attacks on the town, allowing for an early warning and preventing the kind of senseless violence that robbed the town of their tranquillity. Some questioned why he had chosen to place the tower so far into The Dark Woods, only barely within the borders of what the town considered their land, but these questions were quickly hushed. Time passed, mourning died down, and Barrett’s reign became the new normal.

Yet the tower still remained. No one could remember hearing of any guards being sent out to man it, nor did anyone really know where precisely it was located. Rumours were quashed as quickly as they appeared, at least among most of the population. But the lure of a good mystery would never truly die, and the tower became a legend amongst the younger members of the community.

Some claimed that the tower was a punishment, a place where rogue guards were sent when they misbehaved. This warped into a warning for annoying siblings, a threat of a cold dark dungeon they sent misbehaving kids to when they stole stuff that wasn’t theirs or got too annoying. Others claimed there used to be guards out there, but something in The Dark Woods picked them off one by one, until it wasn’t even worth sending men out there. Claims of what was threatening the tower grew more and more outlandish as the years went on, from packs of wild wolves, to rabid Kobolds, to a fully fledged adult dragon, a rival to even the Meritocrats themselves. Lord Barrett waved these concerns away as soon as they were brought to him, or so the townsfolk assumed, as there was no word of search parties sent out or any kind of exploration into the darkness of The Dark Woods. He ignored it, and so they ignored it, diverting any gossip from the subject and carrying on with their lives, ignorant to what lay beyond the boundaries of their town.

Perhaps they are wise to do so. Ignorance is, after all, bliss, and the inhabitants are perfectly happy to leave their worldview unquestioned, to trust in those who protect them; although from what, no one was entirely sure. They do not know the truth of what lies in those woods, nor do they care to. Nor should they.

They do not need to know what is spoken in other towns, in the places beyond The Dark Woods. They do not need to hear the rumours that began to spread in recent years of what exactly lives in that tower. They do not need to know the reputation Lord Barrett Racket has made for himself as the ruthless murderer of his kin, grabbing power with blood stained hands. Nor, in fact, do they need to hear the whispers that maybe, just maybe, the heir to the throne he seized still lives, hidden from prying eyes.

Whispers that reach farther than Barrett could imagine. A constant lurking rumour shared among the dining halls of the rich and muttered over tankards of ale in the seediest of back alley pubs. Whispers that would find their way to a rather… unusual group of people.

In the temple of Aphrodite, a trainee paladin hears news of a quest that would complete her training and bring her the glory she needs. In the dark corner of a dirty bar, a sailor turned mercenary turned cleric downs a pint of cider and catches the end of a conversation that promptly sobers him up. And in the back of a workshop, amid explosions of brightly coloured smoke and showers of sparks, an alchemist scribbles something down on a piece of parchment as their assistant, through intermittent coughs, tells them a story that filters through the haze of thoughts buzzing through their mind.

For there is something stirring in The Dark Woods, something that may very well be linked to the tower. Stories have been building for years, rumours of a ferocious beast that has found its home in that area of The Dark Woods, trapping anyone who may have been living there. Anyone including the fabled lost princess herself.

It is a beautifully straight-forward story, one that tugs at heartstrings and plays exactly the right notes.

Some might even say it is too perfect.

They would be correct.


	2. Chapter One

If there was one thing that Azubuike wanted, more than anything else in the world, it was a quest. Every other part of her paladin training had been completed; she could tend to the sick, fight just as well as anyone else in the temple of Aphrodite, and could recite the tenets of her goddess in her sleep at this point. That last fact had unfortunately been proven many times, much to the annoyance of the other trainees with whom she shared a dormitory, but Azu didn’t mind. Ever since that travelling paladin had visited her small village, bringing news of a goddess of love and kindness, and a chance for a higher purpose in life, her heart had been set on following in their footsteps – quite literally, in fact, as she packed her bags and bade farewell to Azania, trading in the mountains of her homeland for the sandy plains of Al Fustat.

Her training had been hard but worthwhile, and every day felt like it brought her closer to her goddess. The only thing now standing between her and her calling, the chance to truly become a paladin of Aphrodite, was the final challenge all paladins must face. Their quest. Azu’s best friend Ed, a tousled haired and slightly absent minded paladin of Apollo she had met on an exchange, had been on his for the last few months. The letters he had sent at the beginning sounded so thrilling, coming to villages where he did errands and helped the locals, all with a goal of reaching The Dark Woods .  Admittedly, it had been a while since she’d heard any news from him, but Azu could only assume that this was due to the lack of messengers in the forest, or Ed becoming so swept up in adventure that he didn’t have the time for letter writing. If there was one thing she’d learnt during the weeks Ed had spent at her temple, and the time she spent at his in return, it was that he did struggle sometimes with letters, both the ones he wrote to her and the symbols themselves, which he described as dancing off the page. Long periods of silence were familiar and, therefore, expected. Definitely not cause for concern. Or so Azu was hoping.

If anything, Ed’s silence was driving Azu’s desire to get out there and prove herself. Every time a traveller would pass through their town with news of the world outside bearing any scrap of information about The Dark Woods, Azu would listen intently, keeping her ears open for anything concrete - anything that could justify a quest. Aphrodite’s followers were mostly concerned with spreading love, as was their goddess’ will, so people were usually sent out as peacekeepers, diplomats in lands near and far, helping to end conflicts and find compromises, heal wounds both physical and metaphorical. Azu knew this was a noble cause, of course, and had helped out on many such missions, shadowing the more senior members of the temple and learning by their side. But secretly, whispered between the lines of her evening prayers and wished on every star she could find, Azu yearned for adventure. Stories sung by travelling bards, telling of knights in shining armour, saving damsels by sweeping them off their feet, caught her imagination and filled her dreams. After all, what was chivalry if not an expression of love and devotion, and what could be more loving than risking all you had to save someone else.

So when news came that the rumours surrounding the tower may in fact be true, Azu’s heart leapt in her chest. People had been talking about the structure hidden away deep in The Dark Woods for years, and Azu had heard almost every wild speculation as to what could be kept in there, and what could be guarding it. The town of Ludenwic was notoriously secretive, almost entirely closed off from the rest of the world ever since their leaders had been murdered. This did nothing to quash the burning curiosity of anyone who had been even the slightest bit intrigued about what was happening in that sleepy little settlement, tucked away in the forest. It was difficult to separate the outlandish tales made up by people with far too much on their hands, and the genuine information some were willing to share after a drink or two, but what little she could work out intrigued Azu. There seemed to be a general consensus that there was a tower there, with someone living within, and that no one in the town over the age of 18 would speak of it. Recently, there had also been mentions of a guardian, some ferocious beast stalking the land around the structure. Travellers to Ludenwic returned to Al Fustat with stories of roars echoing through the trees and a distinct lack of woodland creatures. At first they were met with scoffs and dismissals, written off just like most of the people returning from abroad with tall tales. Even Azu had her doubts – it all seemed a bit too perfect, a hidden tower guarded by a monster preventing the rescue of whoever dwelt within.

That was however, until Howard Carter returned.

He was a bit of a joke around the town, claiming to be a scholar but more often found studying the bottom of a glass than any of his books. He infuriated Azu, but she often found herself coming to his aid anyway, whether that be stepping into the middle of yet another bar fight that had sprung up around him or finding him in the temple’s infirmary the morning after someone found him collapsed in the street. She had to admit, Carter’s exploits had given her a decent chance to practise healing hangovers.

The so-called scholar often left the town on exploits to gain more knowledge, or so he claimed. He certainly wasn’t a local – his constantly sun-reddened skin was a good indication that he had not been raised under the blazing sun – and Azu assumed these trips were mostly just the result of homesickness. It was on one such trip however, that Carter gained some very interesting knowledge indeed.

Carter, as he explained over several stiff drinks that night, was originally from Ludenwic but had left at a young age to study elsewhere and very rarely returned. Yet that past month had seen him forced home due to a family illness, and so Carter had made the voyage over sea and through the hills. It was on the return journey, however, that he’d lost his way attempting to take an ill-advised shortcut through The Dark Woods. At this point in his retelling, Azu had been forced to interrupt, desperate for any news of Ed and his quest, but Carter couldn’t remember meeting any paladins on his way, and besides, Edward Keystone was not the kind of man one forgets in a hurry. What he did remember encountering, however, was a large swathe of land that seemed to have been scarred by fire damage. The foliage had grown back, but Carter could make out where the plants were a lot fresher than those surrounding them, where there were large patches of completely barren earth where nothing was growing back. He followed these scars as they seemed to grow even fresher, even revealing patches of still scorched earth, the soil blackened by soot, but could find no sign of their origin. There were no obvious signs of camps that might have been set up, or any convenient notes left behind by a very prolific arsonist. He was just about ready to give up the search, willing to wait until he returned to Fustat to send a letter home with the news and hoping to return with reinforcements, when he heard it.

Deep from within the forest, in the same direction as the most dense and ruined patches of earth, came an almighty growl. It sounded like nothing Carter had ever heard before, a rumbling that shook the earth beneath him and rustled the branches above, even shaking loose the odd leaf. The sound seemed to reverberate in his very bones, literally shaking to his core. Despite all the flowery language he later tried to dress it up in when telling his story of woe, it was clear Carter had fled in abject terror. Azu didn’t blame him of course – he was, after all, simply a man of learning, and didn’t have nearly the same level of defence training taught to prospective paladins. It was ridiculous to expect him to stay and investigate, push on ahead sword in hand to track this beast to its lair – despite the fact that Azu herself wouldn’t have hesitated, and that the idea of running from this kind of danger was completely foreign to her.

Pushing aside any thoughts of irritation, Azu pressed Carter for as much information as possible. This was her chance. Finally, some nigh on concrete proof she could use for her quest, something to bring to the head of the temple and make her case. It was unorthodox for paladins to choose their own case, especially in a temple like Aphrodite’s that was so community oriented and took on so many cases for others, but it wasn’t unheard of for prospective members to bring a cause close to their hearts before Eren Fairhands. Outside of her questioning every traveller that passed through since Ed left, Azu had been dropping hints around the more senior members of the temple, trying to work out exactly what she would need to say to get cleared, exactly how much hard evidence she would have to gather, and how much she could get away with relying on gossip. This was all she needed, an eyewitness coming back from an area known for its vulnerability to attack in the past, and one where she knew she could potentially find an ally, if Ed was still wandering around The Dark Woods. 

Her hands were shaking as she approached Fairhand’s chamber. She had been there before of course – all paladins-in-training went before the head priest of the temple when they very first joined in order to be questioned, to make entirely sure that this was the path they wanted to choose. Azu had been completely overwhelmed during hers, and some of that old nervousness was creeping back into her veins, her hands shaking like a palm tree in a sandstorm. This was her chance to claim her quest, make her case and set off on the adventure of a lifetime, to finally claim her place among the paladins of Aphrodite and prove herself to Fairhands. Taking the deepest breath possible, she steeled herself and knocked on the door. The short sharp sound echoed through the corridor she was in, ringing in the silence that followed. It was a relief like no other when the silence was broken by a call of “Enter!”

Azu complied, slowly pushing open the heavy door and entering. Fairhands was, as she expected, sat at his table, surrounded by rolls of parchment and quills and wearing the traditional flowing pink robes that befitted his high status within the temple. However, to her surprise, he was not alone. Sat in front of him were two of the oddest people Azu had ever seen in her life, and she regularly interacted with Howard Carter.

One figure appeared to be a dwarf, at least judging from the height and the magnificent braided beard, separated into what appeared to be two separate plaits in an elaborate style Azu didn’t recognise. It was painfully clear he was not a local, everything from the cool greens and greys of his clothing to the pale, almost straw-like colour of his hair and beard marked him out as a foreigner. The same appeared to be true for the other person sat next to him, although while the pair seemed to share similar complexions, the similarities ended there. Where the dwarf was short and compact, stocky in a way Azu very rarely saw in the halflings that populated Fustat, this person was so tall and skinny it almost looked like someone had grabbed hold of their limbs and pulled as hard as possible, stretching them out like gum .  Even their hair added to this, sticking up straighter than Azu would even have thought possible. The two stood out among the warm colours of Fairhand’s office like two fish in a sand dune, and Azu couldn’t help but furrow her brow slightly.

Thankfully, her confusion was almost immediately answered by Fairhands himself. “Ah, Azu” he said, standing up from behind his desk to greet her. “I was told you wished to see me. In fact, I believe I may even have pre-emptively found solutions to the very problem you have come to see me about?”

“Oh… really?” Azu couldn’t help but let her surprise colour her tone. She hadn’t even been aware that Fairhands knew why she had requested to see him, let alone that apparently he had already found what he called ‘solutions’, which sounded worryingly like an alternative way of saying ‘other people who were willing to do the job instead’. The dwarf certainly had the rugged look of a mercenary, and while it was very rare for the temple to hire outsiders for tasks, it may well be that Fairhands had taken the decision to leave the problem to people who had more… local knowledge.

The two maybe-mercenaries turned to face Azu as she spoke. The dwarf’s expression was inscrutable, if perhaps slightly grumpy, but there seemed to be genuine delight on the other person’s face. Their slender build, mirroring that of Eren Fairhands, and the appearance of one sharply pointed ear seemed also to indicate the figure was elven, or at the very least a half elf, although the other ear had apparently been blown off. Definitely mercenaries then, Azu thought, trying very hard not to stare at the scarring. Luckily the stranger didn’t seem to notice her stares, as they leapt to their feet, immediately sticking out a hand to shake.

“Hi there! My name is Celiquillithon Sidebottom, but my friends call me Cel, or rather, people who know me call me Cel? Jasper calls me Cel but he’s more of an apprentice than a friend, and technically speaking he isn’t even that at the moment cause I’m taking a sabbatical, which is a word I’ve just come up with that means I’m taking a holiday, but it’s a  _ learning _ holiday, cause this is really an expedition to learn more about The Dark Woods and-“

Celiquillithon’s cascade of words was cut off by a hand placed gently but firmly on their arm. The dwarf had risen as well, albeit to a much lesser height than the gangly half-elf, and judging by the exasperation clear on his face, this was not an unusual situation for him, despite how overwhelmed Azu felt. Judging by Cel’s slow blinks, however, they were still not entirely used to being interrupted, or at the very least, not quite used to this particular form of interruption. They apologised quickly, sinking back down into the chair, although the dwarf remained standing.

He cleared his throat, clearly trying to regain some kind of normality after Cel’s outburst. “I… apologise for the… enthusiasm of my associate” he said, his thick accent once more marking him out as an outsider. Azu didn’t quite recognise its origin, but there were enough similarities to how Carter spoke that she could assume this man was also from Albion. “We met recently, as we both have… similar goals. And from what I’ve heard from your boss over here, you might too.”

“What do you mean?”

It was Fairhands’ turn to clear his throat now. Azu turned to him, hoping for more indication as to what on earth was going on. She hadn’t even known that news of her request had reached the head of the temple yet, let alone these strangers. Her sheer confusion must have been obvious, as she received a reassuring smile from Fairhands before he continued.

“Azu, it has come to my attention that you have a… certain cause close to your heart that you have been interested in for some while. And, since we have been visited by someone with rather pertinent information to what has been happening in The Dark Woods, I had reason to believe that the reason you have come to visit me was to ask permission to use this as the final part of your training.”

Azu could not believe her ears. “How- did someone in the temple tell you?” she stuttered out, the combination of Fairhands’ presence and him apparently knowing all about her quest squeezing her chest as tight as if with a vice. She knew that there were gossips among the others living at the temple, had long suspected that she herself may well have been the subject of some of the smothered giggles or beleaguered looks, but the idea that her secret quest was common knowledge sent an unfamiliar panic through her. Azu had not exactly concealed her mission, but she hadn’t told anyone either.

Fairhands’ expression was as calm as ever, betraying nothing. “It matters not. What does matter is this. Our help is needed, Azu. Aphrodite’s chosen spread love and healing throughout the land, but there are times where prevention is just as important as healing. These people have approached us with a dilemma, and one that just so happens to line up perfectly with your desired quest.”

Azu could do nothing but gape. “You mean…”

A very slight smile graced Fairhands’ lips. “I believe there is something you need to ask me?”


	3. Chapter Two

Azu could not believe her luck. She hadn’t stopped grinning ever since she left Fairchild’s office, her cheeks aching with the stretch. Every other step became a little bounce, as if her feelings were so intense they were leaking out through her feet, buoying her up as if on a cloud. Finally,  _ finally _ , she had her quest, her chance to step out into the world to do good, spread Aphrodite’s love and, most importantly, prove her worthiness as a paladin.

Fairhands had been more accepting than she could have ever hoped, soothing all of the concerns that had been building within her with the same calm tone he used in almost every situation. Given the somewhat… unusual circumstances, he had even waived the need for an observer from the temple. Apparently the dwarf, who introduced himself as Zolf Smith, was cleric of Poseidon, and so would be able to provide the necessary spiritual guidance. Azu was surprised that Fairhands would allow a cleric from a different faith to supervise, but she was not complaining, as it was clear what Mr Smith lacked in specific knowledge of the cult of Aphrodite, he would make up for in adventuring experience. Besides, followers of Poseidon were rare in Fustat, and it would be fascinating to learn more about other faiths as she finished her education in the ways of Aphrodite.

Her other companion was equally fascinating, if for very different reasons. Outside of their initial outburst, they had remained fairly quiet throughout the rest of the meeting, scribbling notes in an already overflowing notebook. From what Azu gathered, Cel was mostly interested in the quest from a scholastic perspective, and unlike Carter, the half-elf genuinely seemed as enthusiastic to discover what lay in The Dark Woods as Azu was. Their constant energy was a contrast to the calm, solid presence of Mr Smith, and only added to the odd image the two made. And yet for all his quiet exasperation, Zolf really seemed to trust Cel, and vice versa, which in turn only made Azu more excited to start this adventure with her brand-new friends.

The three adventurers set off on their quest the next morning. Azu had spent the rest of the previous day packing and preparing, collecting together only the essentials for her journey. While it pained her to leave behind the little toys and trinkets her family had given her when she’d left her village, it was for the best, to ensure she would be carrying as little as possible as she travelled. If there was one thing paladins were good at, it was packing light.

Unfortunately, it did not appear her companions had been given the same training. As Azu entered the atrium of the temple, she was greeted with a pile of luggage almost as tall as she was. Various crates and boxes were stacked precariously, some of which were stained with odd colours, or seemed to be smoking slightly. Before Azu could say anything, the pile started rustling precariously before shifting and revealing the figure of Cel, stepping carefully out. They swore quietly under their breath as their foot caught against the side of a crate, before looking up to catch Azu’s gaze, their face splitting into a wide grin.

“Hey there Azu!” Cel said, their voice echoing slightly off the marble walls and high ceilings of the temple. “Got your stuff together?”

Azu nodded, still staring at the pile in front of her. “Are these… all coming with you?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm and approachable. The last thing she wanted was to offend her new companions before they set off, but this did seem… excessive.

Cel didn’t seem to pick up on her tone, darting around the stacks and carefully adjusting and inspecting their many belongings. “They’re definitely coming onto the ship, not sure how many will be coming with us on our land journeys but you can never be too cautious with stuff like this, we don’t know what we’ll be meeting and what that monster is, and I’ve got a bunch of new potions I wanna try and- oh, hey Zolf!”

Azu had been concentrating so hard on trying to follow Cel’s speech that she’d somehow missed Zolf’s arrival, despite the clacking sound that accompanied every step. Apparently during their initial interview, Azu hadn’t noticed that one of Zolf’s legs ended abruptly somewhere around the knee, transitioning abruptly into a carved wooden stump that tapped against the hard surface of the temple’s floor. Thankfully, he seemed to have the same misgivings about Cel’s pile of luggage that Azu did, judging by the unimpressed look on his face. His disappointment was so clear that even Cel stopped and blinked up at him, arms wrapped around a particularly suspicious looking box that seemed to be emitting some kind of green smoke. Slowly and carefully, they lowered the box to the ground, not breaking eye contact with Zolf the entire time.

“Cel,” Zolf sighed, joining Azu in surveying Cel’s small mountain of crates, his face a lot more judgemental than Azu’s “Remember what I said about only bringing things we definitely need?”

“Okay, but consider, I absolutely  _ do _ need all of this” Cel rebuked, stepping carefully over the dropped crate and moving over to join the others. “Y’see, that one’s full of this  _ really _ rare chemical that I just don’t think I’ll be able to find over in Albion, and it’s super important I have it for like, vital alchemy reasons I  _ swear,  _ and then that one over there is mostly spare bottles which you would think I could just reuse ones but then you run the risk of cross contamination and trust me you do  _ not  _ want to see what happens when a potion gets contaminated…”

They trailed off in the face of Zolf’s even less impressed expression. Almost sheepishly, Cel lowered the arm they had been using to point out the intricacies of their luggage and shuffled over to the pile, pulling out boxes to move to the side. Despite the quiet muttering that Azu could just about make out over the sounds of shifting and shuffling, Cel worked quickly, and the new pile was a fraction of its former size. Something that could charitably be called a small smile lurked around the corners of Zolf’s mouth as he watched them work, eyes crinkled with fondness rather than irritation. Azu didn’t realise how engrossed she was in studying his expression until he turned to speak, startling her out of her reverie.

“Please tell me your luggage takes up slightly less room” Zolf said dryly, the slight smile still present. Azu shook her head, gesturing to the small satchel she was wearing slung over one shoulder. Zolf nodded, and Azu couldn’t help but beam in return. She may not have known Zolf for very long, but it felt nice establishing a connection so early. Besides, there was something about his calm but reluctant authority that made gaining his approval feel very satisfying. It was almost similar to how she felt towards Eren Fairhands, but not quite. Fairhands had been her idol since joining the temple, the symbol of all she hoped to achieve, and that brought with it a certain distance. He was untouchable, a figure to impress but never to understand, much like the goddess they both worshipped. Zolf was… different, more grounded. He patted her awkwardly on the hip and walked over to further examine Cel’s packing, and as Azu watched Zolf stare uncomprehending while Cel’s explanations sailed over his head, she realised that she would do all she could to protect them both, no matter what lay ahead in their quest.

The voyage over the sea to Albion was fairly uneventful from Zolf’s perspective, and absolutely fascinating from Azu’s. Her journey to Al Fustat had been over land for the most part, bar the odd river crossing, and this vast expanse of blue water was like nothing she’d seen before. The rolling warmth of the dunes was gone, replaced by hills of water crashing around them or spreading gently out into the distance. Azu spent the first few days of the journey almost entirely on deck, leaning against the railings and watching the water rush by. The feeling of the wind on her skin, the sound of the waves breaking against the hull of the ship, the gentle calls of gulls on the breeze; it was a whole new world for Azu, and it was magnificent.

Zolf did not seem to feel the same way. He seemed to be familiar with the workings of the ship, helping out wherever was needed and speaking with an authority that clearly came from years of practise, but he never truly seemed comfortable. Azu often caught him staring off into the distance without any of the elated wonder she was sure was almost constantly present in her own expression. It was difficult to tell if he was angry, sad, or just grimly determined, but there was something behind his eyes that tugged at Azu’s heartstrings. Every part of her training was screaming to help this man, talk to him and ease the pain she saw in his soul, but the logical part of her knew better. 

Instead, she tried to redirect her worry into more helpful activities. Rather than pestering Zolf with endless questions, or trying to get him to open up, Azu set out instead to be a comforting presence. She started helping out where she could, using her height and strength to her advantage in completing tasks the dwarf struggled with. As it turned out, a willingness to work hard and listen well went far onboard a ship, and she quickly found herself becoming used to naval life. It was hard work, and mostly consisted of hauling ropes and sails around the decks, but at the end of each day, Azu would sit back with the crew, amongst the laughter and occasional singing, and feel a deep contentment in her work.

Mealtimes were also the only time she was able to see Cel. The half elf had somehow talked their way into getting their own room on the ship which Azu didn’t mind – sleeping in bunks among her fellow crewmates was comfortingly similar to life in the temple dorms, and, even further back, reminded her of sharing a room with her siblings and cousins and various other relatives. She doubted at this point whether she would even be able to get to sleep without the presence of others beside her, the soft murmurings and rustlings of those around her more effective than any lullaby. Cel however, seemed to be perfectly happy to sleep alone, although judging from the noises that came from behind their door at all hours, it was debatable how much sleep they were in fact getting. Azu brought the subject up at dinner one night, and received nothing more than a confused blink, which wasn’t the most reassuring answer to the question “How much rest did you get last night?”

The alchemist was much more forthcoming however, when asked about the nature of the work that kept them up at such ungodly hours. Their title apparently referred to the art of alchemy, the precise subject to which they had apparently devoted their life. According to Cel, alchemy was the study of both what was known about the natural world and what was unknown, combining familiar truths with the fantastical in the pursuit of incredible things. According to Zolf, however, it was mostly a lot of rubbish.

“I just don’t know where you’re getting all this claptrap about magic from Cel,” he said one night, cutting short a long explanation about how there was definitely a process to turn any metal into gold, if only one found the right mix of natural philosophy and magical means. Cel didn’t seem put out at all by his remarks – judging from past conversations, it was clear that Zolf’s scepticism in the face of Cel’s research was a familiar argument, something the pair had often discussed. Negativity worn so smooth by discussion that it no longer struck true enough to hurt.

“Magic isn’t claptrap Zolf!” they replied, gesturing so passionately they nearly smacked the crewmember sitting next to them, a burly half orc with emerald green skin and an accent Azu couldn’t quite place who had taught her all about the different knots used on board. “Everything we know about the world, it all works on a basic logic right? Sun comes up in the east, things fall when we drop them, trees lose their leaves in the winter. But there are still exceptions, things that break the rules. The sun doesn’t rise at the same time each day, and there are some trees that don’t lose their leaves, right? So why can’t there be more exceptions? And if we don’t understand why these things happen, surely people would just call it magic!”

Azu’s brow furrowed. “But… we do know why those things happen. The gods control nature, that’s what we’re told,”

“Right! And they can do incredible things, that’s what all your stories say, or at least, I assume so? We didn’t really have many temples where I grew up and all the stories I’ve been told seem to be different from the ones I’ve heard, and Zolf doesn’t like talking about religion that much, which is weird cause you’re a cleric right? So that’s your whole thing?”

Zolf sighed, taking a long drink from his tankard of rum. There was something behind his eyes, a bone deep weariness that Azu had never seen in any of the clerics of Aphrodite back at the temple. Clearly whatever his relationship with his god was, it was a complicated one.

“I don’t tell you about Poseidon because that’s not how I serve him. There are better speakers than me who do the missionary work, going out and spreading his word. I just try and do as much good as I can, and if that’s what he wants me to do, then that’s fine by me. If it isn’t, well, let’s just say I’m sure he’d let us know.”

Cel’s expression, which had previously displayed both their sympathy and regret at bringing up such a touchy subject, brightened considerably at those last words. “See, that’s what I’m talking about! The gods can do incredible things, so why shouldn’t we call that magic? And if the rules of nature can be broken by them, who’s to say we can’t break them too?”

The incredulous expression on Zolf’s face was surely matched by the one on Azu’s.

“You’re uh, skirting pretty close to hubris there...” Zolf said, concern clear in his voice. Cel just shrugged in response, reaching over to grab some more salted pork.

“Like you said, if they don’t like it, they’ll let me know. In the meantime, I’m just going to keep trying.”

After that particular conversation, Azu spent most of her days with one eye on the sky, waiting for the inevitable lightning strike to come down and smite Cel. Yet the days passed uneventfully, with no signs of divine wrath, and so she had to assume her companion’s work wasn’t displeasing any deities. It didn’t exactly stop her from wincing heavily as they sailed past the temple of Poseidon, nor did it stop Zolf from very firmly remaining below deck as they passed. He didn’t even pay the temple a visit once they docked, instead heading for a small shrine that had been erected by the harbour, no doubt to provide sailors with an easy way to pay tribute before embarking on their voyages. There wasn’t any equivalent to Aphrodite, but that didn’t surprise Azu – most people didn’t exactly have romance on their minds as they embarked, and Dubris was not usually a popular destination for diplomatic missions. As the leaders of Albion resided in the capital, Camulodunum, any missions of a political nature usually headed that way, sailing up the Tamesas and docking at the city. Dubris was mostly populated by merchants and those who followed Apollo, priests and healers employed in the local hospital.

The town was a lot busier than Azu was expecting. The months she’d spent living in Al Fustat had left her somewhat accustomed to living in busier places compared to the tiny mountain village in which she’d grown up, but even so, she was still taken aback by the sheer variety of people. Cel seemed to share her surprise, looking around with eyes as wide as dinner plates and almost vibrating with excitement as they disembarked. The three of them had agreed to spend a night at the port, just to rest before setting off on the long trek towards The Dark Woods. Although Zolf had suggested a restful evening, Azu could tell that Cel wanted nothing more than to explore the various nooks and crannies, disappear off into the winding side streets and resurface only when it was time to head to the pub(?) they were staying in that night. It was a tempting idea even to Azu, but the sheer amount of work that had gone into docking the ship had left her exhausted. Instead, she headed straight for the building that would apparently be their accommodation for the night.

The Soggy Admiral was a well-kept place, with tables serving meals to what Azu assumed to be merchants, resting after voyages just as she and her companions were. The food didn’t look familiar but the warm smells of baking bread and fish being grilled called to her, a welcome change after a diet of mostly hard tack while at sea. It would be nice to have something so fresh for a change, and the temple had given her enough of an allowance for such occasions that Azu felt justified in treating herself to a hearty meal.

The table she was shown to by a very friendly barmaid was tucked away in a corner, allowing her to settle back in the seat with a mug of what was apparently called cider and watch the people coming and going. For the most part, the pub seemed to be populated by humans and halflings, most sporting the same sun weathered complexion as Zolf, although the ones with the nicer, more colourful clothing seemed to be considerably paler. Azu smiled as she watched a man even shorter than Zolf toss a tiny child into the air, dislodging the oversized tricorn atop his small, tousled head that matched the one belonging to his father. The barmaid who had served Azu earlier was also watching the pair, a fond look on her face that reminded her so much of her mother that it made Azu’s heart ache.

Tearing her eyes away from the happy family, Azu’s gaze swept across the other inhabitants and caught on a familiar face. Zolf was sitting at a table sequestered in another corner, just as hidden as hers was. Azu was about to call out, invite him over to join her, when she noticed he wasn’t alone. A human man was sat with him, well-dressed in what seemed to be the livery of the Queen’s army. Azu wasn’t terribly familiar with Albion’s military forces, having thankfully not had much chance to encounter them before, but she had seen people milling around town wearing the colours of the royal family, armed with more obvious weaponry than the average civilian and no apparent religious iconography to mark them out as paladins. From what she’d heard, it was rare for the Queen’s forces to venture far past Camulodunum, as the local nobility would usually have their own forces for protection, but there had been rumours of a sea-faring branch being established in DOVER that this man presumably belonged to.

He seemed to be deep in conversation with Zolf, the two of them apparently discussing the contents of a scroll of papyrus laid out on the table. From her position, Azu couldn’t make out anything that was written on it, and at that moment she decided she wouldn’t try to. The furtive glances that Zolf and his companion were occasionally shooting the rest of the pub made it clear they wanted privacy, and as much as Azu itched to interrogate them, a larger part of her wanted to grant it to them. Admittedly she hadn’t known Zolf for very long, but she wanted to trust him, to give him the benefit of the doubt. This could just be a lead, some additional information regarding their quest, and who was she to interrupt that? Besides, Cel had been travelling with him for even longer, and they also seemed to trust the dwarf wholeheartedly.

She waited until the conversation had finished before heading over to Zolf’s table, waiting what she hoped was just out of eyeshot as he tidied away the papers and stuffed them back into a satchel at his side. Azu approached, smiling reassuringly and trying to project an aura of ‘don’t worry, I saw nothing’. Judging by the slight smile Zolf gave her as he looked up, it seemed to be working. He welcomed her to the table, brushing off a chair that she sank down into while carefully making room for her tankard. The two of them sat in companionable silence, drinking, eating, and people watching late into the evening before retiring to the room they had rented for some well-earned rest.

As Azu drifted off to sleep, part of her almost missed the gentle rocking of the ship. Another, louder part of her brain however, was buzzing with excitement. Tomorrow her quest began.


	4. Chapter Three

The Dark Woods were only about a day’s ride from Dubris, and the trio set off almost as soon as dawn broke the next morning. Zolf had clearly sent word ahead, as there were three horses saddled and ready for them. Azu immediately took a liking to hers, a tall tan mare with a lighter mane that she named Topaz. The new name was met with enthusiastic approval from Cel, who had decided on Jasper for theirs, although Zolf rolled his eyes. It didn’t bother Azu too much however, as she had overheard him calling his pony something that sounded suspiciously like Seabiscuit.

The gentle rhythm of the horse’s movements helped somewhat to calm Azu’s nerves as they set off through the countryside together. It was slightly strange seeing so much rolling green everywhere as she was so used to such a different climate. Often she would find herself distracted by nearby flora and fauna, and would have to force her attention away from a passing butterfly or bird back onto the path before her. Luckily her companions didn’t seem to notice. Cel seemed to be just as enamoured with the scenery as Azu was, providing a running commentary that often veered off into completely unrelated, but nonetheless fascinating, tangents. Zolf, by contrast, was essentially silent, interjecting every now and again to correct Cel. It was clear the dwarf was much more familiar with the landscape than the others were, although even he started looking concerned as they approached The Dark Woods.

They were pretty formidable, as much as a collection of trees could be. They were densely packed, to the point where Azu was worried that the horses might struggle to get through, and with very little sunlight penetrating through the leaves. It put her on edge, checking every patch of foliage and every rustling branch for who knows what.

As it turned out, her fears were well founded. Shortly into their journey Azu pulled sharply on Topaz’s reins, bringing the horse to a halt and nearly causing Cel and Jasper to crash into them. She silenced her companion’s mutters of outrage with a hand held aloft as she paused, straining her ears to catch the sound she could have sworn she heard. It came again, a faint snapping of a twig over to their left, virtually imperceptible. Judging by the way she saw Zolf visibly stiffen, it was clear he had caught it too. Cel seemed to be distracted, fidgeting with something they had pulled out of their pack.

There was no way they were far enough into The Dark Woods to have reached the beast already – Carter’s descriptions made it sound like his encounter had happened much closer to Ludenwic, which Zolf maintained would be another day’s ride at least. Besides, from his description it sounded like there would be more than a twig snapping to signal the creature’s approach. There was a chance this was just some small animal hiding in the undergrowth, but Azu didn’t want to take that risk. Silently she dismounted, handing Topaz’s reins to Zolf, and walked slowly towards where the sound was coming from.

The only warning she had was a flash of something grey, before a small body leapt out at her. Taken aback, Azu staggered backwards, almost crashing into the horses. She wrestled with whatever was attacking her, using her size to her advantage to try and overpower them. After a brief struggle, Zolf and Cel came to her aid, pulling her attacker off her and restraining them.

Now that Azu wasn’t being attacked by a flurry of small limbs, she could get a better look at whoever had launched themselves at her. Between them, Cel and Zolf were holding a small goblin, spitting and snarling as he tried to break free of their grasp. He appeared to be wearing the livery of the temple of Artemis – not a church Azu was particularly familiar with, but the crescent moon symbol emblazoned on his tabard was a fairly good indication. That, and the small bow slung over his shoulders. Azu attempted to school her expression into something more comforting, trying desperately to remember her training. Unsurprisingly, there hadn’t been much about how to calm down a furious goblin who had launched himself at your face.

“Are… are you okay?” she ventured

“Do I look like I’m okay?” the goblin spat out, continuing to struggle. “I’m in the middle of a hunt, and you lot have interrupted it! I’m supposed to be finding this beast, and now you’ve thrown me off and –“

Zolf cut him off. “What do you mean beast? Are you looking for whatever’s outside of Ludenwic?”

The goblin paused in his escape attempts, clearly trying to work out how to explain himself. It was obvious from the slight look of panic on his face that he probably wasn’t supposed to tell them about his quest, but now Azu could find a common ground. If he was a paladin too, then surely he would be able to join them on their journey, and with any luck they would have the same goal.

She knelt, putting herself at the goblin’s eye level. “If you are, then you and I share the same quest. What better way to honour both our gods than to work together?”

A couple of anxious seconds passed. Azu held her breath in anticipation, praying for Aphrodite’s help in reaching out the hand of friendship. All three travellers had their gazes fixed on the goblin’s expression, trying to read his thoughts from nothing more than the twist of his mouth or the flicking of his ears. Eventually, he spoke.

“Usually I hunt alone, but… Artemis does usually say that a pack is stronger than the lone hunter.” He clearly noticed the glee on Azu’s face and rushed to clarify. “ _ Not  _ that you lot are pack. Or at least not yet. You’re just useful, is all. I’ll ride with you till we find this thing, then  _ I’ll  _ take it down, and you can do whatever weird lovey dovey thing you need to.”

Azu grinned, choosing to ignore his last comment. People did tend to dismiss her temple’s work, especially those as… efficient as Artemis’ followers. She was sure, however, that she would be able to win him over during their travel.

“Well then, I think introductions are in order! My name is Azu, I’m a paladin of Aphrodite, this is Zolf, who is a cleric of Poseidon,” Zolf grunted and nodded in response, still holding the goblin’s arm, “and this is-“

“Cel Sidebottom!” Cel said enthusiastically. They dropped the goblin limb they were holding in order to stick out a hand for a handshake which was reluctantly accepted.

“Grizzop Drik Acht Amsterdam” was the reply, as Grizzop shook out the arm that had previously been held by Cel. He tugged at Zolf’s grip until the dwarf reluctantly released him. “Right, back to it then?”

As they journeyed together, Azu attempted to engage Grizzop in conversation. She had so many questions about the temple of Artemis and how they worshipped, mostly based on gossip and stories. Unfortunately, it didn’t appear as if her new friend was ready to open up. Apart from a few short answers, Grizzop was fairly unwilling to speak, choosing instead to focus intently on the path ahead. Zolf noticed her struggles and gave her a rare but reassuring smile, gently answering some of her questions with his own knowledge of the temple of Poseidon. It wasn’t quite the same but Azu appreciated it regardless. Even if she didn’t manage to get much out of Grizzop, it was nice to have her other companion be a little more open. Cel, as expected, chipped in too every now and again with their knowledge of alchemy, talking about how they could use the divine wisdom of the temples to aid with their research.

Eventually The Dark Woods around them grew even darker, what little sunlight there was fading even further. They made camp, much to Grizzop’s disappointment. He was clearly ready to work late into the night, keen goblin sight helping him even as the light disappeared, but Cel’s sight was failing them, and even they seemed to be drooping slightly, in need of a good long rest. They built a campfire quickly and efficiently, starting the flames with something pulled from the bottom of their pack that caused the branches Azu had collected went up so quickly that Azu decided not to question it. Zolf proved to be a surprisingly good cook, taking what rations they had collected together in Dubris and making a hasty but filling meal, supplemented with some leaves and fruit he had collected as they travelled.

As they settled down to eat, bathed in the warm light of Cel’s flames, Azu allowed herself to relax slightly. She was with friends, in a brand-new country, and they were making a good pace on their journey. Things were going well.

Or at least they were, until the cracking noises started.

Immediately all four of them leapt to their feet, weapons grabbed from where they had been lying. Grizzop notched an arrow, pulling back the bow string in readiness, and squinted into the dark.

“Can you see anything?” Cel asked, staring past the campfire’s light into what must have seemed to them to be complete darkness. Azu wasn’t having much more luck making out the shape, even with her superior eyesight. She could tell it was large and bulky, lumbering towards them.

Grizzop narrowed his eyes even further, this time in what looked almost like disbelief. “I… think it’s a bloke? Wearing… armour?”

Somewhere in the back of Azu’s mind, a spark of hope was ignited.

“Wait,” she said, lowering her weapon slightly. “I think I might know who-“

Her words were cut off as a large shape crashed its way into the circle of firelight. The light of the flames reflecting off their golden armour was almost blinding, and Grizzop, Zolf and Cel all instinctively flung up an arm to shade their eyes. Azu squinted into the light, trying to make out if the figure in the armour was who she thought it was. Luckily, her suspicions were confirmed as soon as the figure spoke.

“Oh. You lot aren’t a monster. Sorry for interrupting!”

Ed’s voice boomed out, and Azu’s heart immediately lifted. She rushed forward, arms outstretched, and swept her best friend up into a hug. He hesitated for a second before recognising her and hugging back, almost bone breakingly hard. It had been a joke among the two of them that the other was the only person who could withstand the sheer force with which they hugged, and they were proving that point yet again.

After a good few seconds of incredibly satisfying hugging, Azu released Ed and turned back towards the others, beaming harder than she had in weeks.

“Everybody, this is Edward Keystone. Ed, these are the people who are accompanying me on my quest”

Ed’s face lit up. “You got a quest! Azu, that’s wicked! Aw, I am dead proud of you, I am! Now we can be quest buddies!”

Zolf cleared his throat. His trident was still slightly raised, and Azu noticed that Grizzop hadn’t released the arrow from his bow yet either. “Azu, would you care to explain who this man is and what the hell he is doing in these woods, alone, in the middle of the night?”

“I was actually wondering that too,” Azu said, turning back to her friend. “I thought the Apollo lot sent out chaperones on quests too. What happened to yours?”

Ed looked incredibly sheepish all of a sudden, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing. “I… I got lost. Friedrich was supposed to be with me, but I wandered off and he never found me, so… guess I’m just doing this quest alone now!”

Azu’s heart broke. She knew that Ed struggled to fit in at the temple, that none of the senior members quite had the patience for him. She’d always been happy to make the effort but it had been clear from his letters that not everyone else had been. But to abandon your charge in the middle of woods you knew were infested with monsters? What kind of a mentor would do such a thing?

A cursory glance around the group showed that she was not the only one offended on Ed’s behalf. Grizzop had lowered his bow now, his look of anger clearly directed beyond Ed rather than at him, and Zolf and Cel wore matching looks of outrage. Azu took a deep breath and tried to make her expression open and friendly, pushing down her feelings to try and present Ed with a friendly face.

“Well, you don’t have to go it alone. Stay with us, Ed. We’ll set off in the morning, all of us together. And we will finish this quest together. I swear by Aphrodite that I will not abandon you.”

***

The group continued their search the next day. Despite the added members they managed to keep a good pace, mostly due to Grizzop’s sheer impatience. Although he was small, the goblin was an almost constant source of energy, never staying still for more than a couple of seconds. At any given moment some part of him would be tapping or fidgeting or bouncing up and down. He was the first to rise that morning and, much to the annoyance of some of the less… energetic members, spent the entire time pushing everyone to eat quicker and pack up as soon as possible. Unsurprisingly, Ed was just as enthusiastic, a ray of sunshine to make his god proud, and his more optimistic form of encouragement went down considerably easier.

Azu was slightly concerned that they wouldn’t be able to find the tower, given they were working off the incredibly vague directions that Carter had given them, but fortunately her fears were unfounded. As they drew nearer towards where Ludenwic was, it was hard to miss the large patches of scorched earth that started appearing. They were small at first, almost indistinguishable from the remains of campfires, but grew in size the deeper they travelled into the forest. Grizzop started muttering under his breath, something about ruining the forest and disrespecting his goddess. Azu could sympathise; although Aphrodite was not very connected to nature, she had enough experience with encountering loveless marriages or tales of neglect that she knew how it felt to see what you view as holy be so... disrespected.

The scorched patches seemed to be at their largest just as the trees began to thin slightly. Grizzop, who had somehow been keeping up with the horses despite being on foot and was at the head of the group, held up a hand for the others to halt. The others complied and Azu, once Topaz had been brought to a stop, slid off her horse to come up alongside her fellow paladin. Silently, he pointed ahead to what seemed to be a clearing, the forest floor scorched just as the ground they had approached on had been.

In the centre of the clearing, there stood a tall tower that stretched up towards the sky, the roof only just below the tree line. It seemed to be fairly wide, enough that Azu could imagine the rooms inside would be comfortably sized, and a uniform width the whole way up. Strangely there didn’t seem to be any guards standing by the heavy wooden doors, despite there being a small ledge built just above that could protect any who stood there from the elements.

Azu turned to Grizzop, eyebrows raised. Surely this was too easy? Judging by the incredulous look on the goblin’s face, he felt the same way. The pair turned back towards the rest of the group.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone there…” Azu said, her voice as close to a whisper as she could manage.

“But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to be as quiet as possible” Grizzop hissed, hand reaching towards his bow in readiness. Unfortunately, it seemed that Ed had completely missed his interjection as the golden paladin instead charged forward, sword raised.

If the clanking of the plate armour wasn’t enough to alert anyone in the vicinity, then Ed’s loud bellow of “BEGONE EVILDOER!” would have done it. Azu winced at the sound of it, partly out of embarrassment and partly under the sheer power of Grizzop’s glare. Zolf sighed loudly and dismounted from Seabiscuit, slowly following after. There was a distinct air of ‘This idiot is going to get himself killed if someone doesn’t go after him’ about the way he moved that struck Azu as almost sweet, in a very reluctantly protective way. She followed suit, hand drifting towards the battle axe strapped to her waist. Already she could hear the sounds of something moving, something huge whose footsteps shook the ground they walked on. Closing her eyes and offering a quick prayer to Aphrodite, Azu stepped forward into the clearing to face whatever had appeared.

In front of them was a creature Azu had only ever heard about in myth. A huge dragon stood before them in the clearing, sunlight glinting off its brassy scales, highlighting the curved lines of its wickedly sharp claws. Its eyes seemed to glow red with an inner fire, presumably the same force that had just attacked them, the cause of all the scorched patches of earth. As the dragon opened its mouth in a roar, the back of its throat seemed to be set alight, glowing like the embers of a burnt-out fire. Azu shoved Cel behind her as the creature reared back, presumably readying a volley of flames. She ignored the half-elf’s chatter, which seemed to mostly consist of variations on either “I  _ told  _ you magic was real” or “This is absolutely  _ fascinating,  _ d’you think they’d let me study them?”

“Cel, this is not the time!” Azu yelled, drawing her axe and standing protectively in front of her friends, attempting to stare the dragon down. Despite every instinct in her body screaming at her to run, trying to reconcile what she saw before her with what she knew to be true, she stood firm. Now was not the time to debate whether dragons were real, or to carry out any kind of investigation on them. She was a paladin of Aphrodite, and that meant her job was to protect the people she cared about.

As she stood there, axe in hand, her friends behind her, Azu felt a kind of courage rush through her that she had never felt before. It spread though her, a warmth that infused her limbs and soothed her fears. She lifted her head, levelling her gaze directly at the dragon’s face, and spoke.

“Leave my friends alone.”

Her words seemed to reverberate through the clearing, echoing like she was in a cave or a mountain valley. The dragon hesitated, stepping backwards in what looked like fear. Azu couldn’t believe her eyes as the beast retreated. She stepped forward in response to narrow the gap whilst holding her axe up still in a defensive stance. Ed moved to her side, his own sword drawn, and Azu could just catch Grizzop out of the corner of her eye, perched in a nearby tree with his bow drawn and ready to fire.

The dragon clearly realised it was in for a fight. Its eyes darted between the party members, flicking from Ed’s sword to Azu’s axe to even further behind them, where Zolf must have been standing with his trident. Then, to the surprise of everyone present, the beast spoke, in a high trembling voice.

“S-sasha? There are people here… I don’t think they’re friendly,” it said, turning its head towards the tower.

Azu could just about make out a movement at the window, a figure behind the glass. It vanished just as quickly as it appeared, just before something slipped down the side of the tower and landed gently in the grass. It looked like a figure, and as they moved closer, Azu could make out a shock of black hair almost covering a pale face, thin body clad in equally dark clothing. The figure placed a hand on the dragon’s flank, causing the others to raise their weapons in response. The dragon seemed to shrink in on itself, first figuratively as its hackles lowered like a scolded dog, then in a more literal sense. Azu watched in awe as the scales shrank away, the claws retracting back into nails, the wings folding back and then out of sight entirely. Slowly, the dragon’s huge bulk all but melted away, leaving a small humanoid being crouched beside the first figure, whose hand was now resting on the other’s shoulder. Where the brass monster had been, there was now a halfling, shaking slightly in fear.

Before anyone could react, the black-clad figure spoke up.

“Listen mates, I dunno what you want here, but you aren’t hurting my friend, okay? You want to hurt him, you gotta go through me first.”

There was a moment of silence as the group struggled to comprehend what they had just seen. In the end it was Cel who spoke up.

“Well, this just got a  _ lot _ more interesting.”


	5. Chapter Four

According to Eldarion, babies didn’t remember things. Sasha thought this was rubbish. Just cause she couldn’t remember everything that happened to her when she was little didn’t mean she just forgot anything that happened before she was three. It wasn’t clear, mind, not like stuff she did last week, but there were still vague blurry moments tucked away in the back of her mind.

The earliest thing she could remember was mostly a rush of sensations. The thick smell of smoke in the air, bright flashes of colour rushing past. The sounds of screams. It came back to her sometimes, when the chimney in the corner of her room got clogged and the soot built up, filling the space with that familiar smell. Eldarion said she was foolish, that there was no way that a baby could recall anything from that far back, but that didn’t stop her from letting Sasha keep the door open when nightmares startled her awake. If she strained her mind, really focussed in on the details, sometimes Sasha could just about recall her guardian’s arms around her, the familiar smell of her perfume and the softness of her hair grasped in tiny hands. It was she who rescued Sasha from whatever happened to the others, the ones whose screams still haunted her memories, and brought her to the tower, to safety.

For a long time, Eldarion was the only person Sasha knew. It even took the elf several years to convince a stubborn toddler that other people did in fact exist outside of the confines of the tower. In the end, she had to resort to summoning up one of the guards who stood almost motionless outside the heavy oak doors, only barely visible if Sasha climbed up a wall and looked out the highest window at just the right angle. That was a trick she didn’t learn until she was older and was resorting to literally climbing the walls in a bid to get rid of the restless energy that coursed through her veins. By the time Sasha was twelve, she could scale any surface in the tower, fingers seeking out the tiniest nooks and crannies and fitting in, gripping tight and pulling upwards. She even discovered just the right way to jiggle the window, pushing gently at the corner and pulling across the bolts until it swung slowly open. She never pushed them fully open, never enough that the squeaking of the hinges would alert Eldarion and lead to even more ‘safety’ measures that would take weeks to get past.

The countless bolts and chains that trapped Sasha within the tight embrace of the tower were, apparently, for her own safety. The outside world was far too dangerous a place for a girl like her, or at least that was the line Eldarion repeated every time she was faced with a stubborn toddler demanding to see the sun, or later, a sullen teen asking why she couldn’t just clamber out of the window and go exploring. Never mind that, as her tutor, it was surely Eldarion’s responsibility to teach Sasha to protect herself, the same way she taught her the names of the trees whose leaves pressed up against the glass, or the birds whose song could be caught drifting on the breeze. Sasha begged to be allowed to roam free, to find out for herself how awful the world really could be, but was met with nothing but rejection.

Occasionally, the story was slightly different. When Sasha was too insistent, or when she was stupid enough to get caught picking at the lock on the window, she would be… treated to a more detailed explanation. She would be told why exactly Eldarion had fled into The Dark Woods with the infant Sasha, never to return to Ludenwic again. The story of the fire that had swept through the palace, started by unknown assailants who disappeared as quickly as the flames had spread. Sasha’s parents, servants at the castle, killed protecting their rulers - but not before pressing their infant daughter into the arms of the one person who made it out alive. The new Lord, building this tower as a place of protection for the last remaining members of the previous court, in case those who committed such a crime returned to finish the job. It was a sad story, and every time Sasha heard it – usually hissed through gritted teeth as Eldarion dragged her away from the window – it was a guarantee that her dreams that night would be filled with those half-remembered flashes of terror.

Yet, as she grew, she began to question. If she had to hide away for her own safety, then why was Eldarion allowed to come and go as she pleased, often staying away for days on end once Sasha could be trusted to be left alone? Why did the elf, who looked exactly the same as she did all those years ago, have permission to come and go, when Sasha, who was surely unrecognisable as the baby who had been smuggled to safety, was forced to hide away?

And so did Sasha, and her resentment, grow. The rebellious part of her, the part that was pushing at the boundaries her guardian set, refused to sit silently and learn her letters, refused to be pacified by promises of an eventual freedom, conditional on her learning her manners and keeping quiet.

Brock was the final tipping point.

***

Brock was the youngest guard Sasha had ever seen stationed at her door. Most of the soldiers she could glimpse from her vantage point were much older - grey haired and grizzled, and covered in scars. After a few months of watching, she managed to work out how the rotation worked, when the guards would swap shifts or even when they would be replaced. Brock came in exactly when she predicted, replacing a tall orcish woman with one broken tusk Sasha had been watching for a while.

He couldn’t have been more different from his predecessor. Where the orc was tall and broad, Brock was small and skinny, barely filling out the armour he was wearing. He couldn’t have been that much older than Sasha herself, and while she felt that she was a very mature 12 years old, she couldn’t imagine being sent out in a job as a guard. Jobs were for boring old people like Eldarion and the orc, not kids.

Strangely, Eldarion seemed as confused as Sasha was by Brock’s appearance. Often, she could be seen outside the tower, talking to the other guards with animated gestures, too far for Sasha to catch any words or read their lips. All she could gather was that her guardian returned from these talks in a foul mood and that asking any questions would likely not have gone down terribly well. Sasha knew enough to leave Eldarion well alone when she was in this kind of mood, and so she was surprised when, only a week after Brock’s arrival, her guardian appeared at her bedroom door with an incredibly awkward looking guard in tow.

“Sasha, this is Brock. He is here because it is… important for you to meet others your age.” Eldarion’s words were practically hissed through her gritted teeth, as she shoved Brock forward. Before Sasha even had a chance to ask any questions, the door was slammed behind Eldarion as she disappeared from sight, leaving the two children staring awkwardly at each other. It was several seconds before either spoke, the heavy silence hanging between as almost a tangible representation of their awkwardness and confusion.

It was Brock who broke the silence first, as it so often would be over the course of their friendship. He coughed to clear his throat and stuck his hand out, clearly expecting Sasha to shake it. “My name is Brock. I’m here to serve”

Sasha lasted a mere two seconds before bursting into laughter. It wasn’t Brock’s fault, although the slightly offended look on his face didn’t help things. He was so formal, but in such a weird way, like he was trying to be a lot older than he actually was. It reminded her of the etiquette lessons Eldarion had been forcing her through, the practising postures in front of mirrors until the person who stared back didn’t look like her anymore. The memory was so strong that, through her giggles, Sasha attempted a wobbly curtsey, feet splayed out at angles they really should not have been. Apparently the end result was just as ridiculous as she felt, as the sound of Brock’s laughter quickly joined her own. By the time Eldarion found them, the pair had collapsed on the floor together, laughing harder than either of them had ever laughed before.

After that day the pair were inseparable, much to Eldarion’s displeasure. When Brock wasn’t positioned out by the tower’s doors, he was up with Sasha in her rooms. The two of them spent their days talking about everything and nothing, playing at knights and monsters, wrestling and climbing as much as the four walls would allow them to. It was Brock who told Sasha about all the rumours surrounding her tower, much to her amusement, and in return she told him all Eldarion had taught her about The Dark Woods and their inhabitants. They made plans together, organising some vague and distant future in which Brock broke away from the army and helped Sasha escape, the two of them disappearing into The Dark Woods together to seek their own freedom. Brock had no one back in the village who would miss him – he, like Sasha, was an orphan, and had grown up in a home for lost and unwanted children that also coincidentally served as a recruiting ground for the town guard. The pair pledged to be each other’s family, claiming in fact to be long lost cousins, separated by circumstance but finally reunited. 

No one could have predicted that their time together would cut so short, nor so abruptly. There was very little warning, even with Sasha’s knowledge of the guards and how their deployments went. Brock seemed to be an exception anyway, staying for much longer than anyone before him, but the pair had assumed that was due to his youth. He was so much younger than the others, a fact he often complained about when he and Sasha were alone, that it made sense for them to keep him around. Eldarion had even begrudgingly come to accept the two of them spending so much time together, or at least, she didn’t openly glare at them anymore. Everything seemed to be going well, until the morning Sasha woke up to find Brock gone.

It was a day she knew he would be free – they had even planned to meet up early that morning to discuss the book Eldarion had brought her charge for her thirteenth birthday the previous week. It was huge, leather bound, and full of words Sasha didn’t know, but Brock liked that kind of smart stuff, and was looking forward to reading through it and giving his friend a much more comprehensive summary when finished. Sasha waited all day, sat in the centre of her room, the book lying on her lap and weighing more than it had any right to. But there was no sign of her friend, not that day, or any day after. A thorough questioning of the guards revealed that he had apparently been transferred, called back into the town to guard Lord Barrett himself. Yet any new arrivals to the tower denied all knowledge of knowing anyone in their ranks by the name of Brock in any position.

If it hadn’t been for the physical evidence, the notes and drawings left behind in his wake, Sasha could have almost been convinced her friend had never existed at all. Instead, she was left with a pit inside her, a sense of loss and betrayal eating away at her as she went through the motions of everyday life. None of Eldarion’s lessons could distract her, though she put up a good act, playing along as the dutiful student while constantly seething beneath. Her tutor’s words washed over her, rebounding off the surface of the walls Sasha was constructing, slowly protecting herself from the loss. She would escape someday, for her and for Brock, and she would find him. There was nothing Eldarion could do to stop her.

***

It was only two years after Brock’s disappearance, once Sasha had grown from a sullen child to an equally sullen teenager, when life at the tower encountered yet another change.

Ever since Brock’s disappearance, the guard at the tower door had been reduced somewhat, leaving long stretches with no one watching the entrance at all. Sasha had no idea what was behind this sudden reduction in security, but she wasn’t about to complain. She had honed her skills through months of sneaking out to visit Brock when he stood on guard, trying to see how much she could get away with taking from his pockets or drawing on his armour before either he or whoever he was with got suspicious. At this point, she was nigh on invisible as she slipped down the side of the tower, clinging to the brickwork like one of those lizards in the books Eldarion brought her from all across the globe. The problem however, now that the issue of the guards spotting her was no longer present, was what to do next. No matter how much of Sasha yearned to leave, a small but ever-present part of her would fixate on how little she was prepared for the outside world. Her pickpocketing was getting better every day, and Brock had taught her all he knew about self-defence, but all Eldarion’s warnings about the cruelty of the world outside had sunk deep into her mind. The furthest she’d ever reached was right to the edge of the clearing her tower was in, when a chance look upward at the vast expanse of the night sky had provoked such a deep fear within her that Sasha had to run back to the comforting prison she had escaped.

It was on one of these trips however, testing the boundaries of her courage, that Sasha heard the whimpering. At first, she assumed it was some kind of injured animal, like the rabbit Brock had brought in once that had its foot mangled by a trap. They hadn’t managed to conceal it from Eldarion for very long before being discovered, and the rabbit had presumably ended up in that night's dinner, but she was older now, and wiser, and knew better than to try and keep a pet under her bed. Besides, Eldarion was spending more and more time away from the tower at that point which, along with the reduced guard, meant this time her plan had a lot more chance of succeeding.

As it turned out, however, the whimpering was not in fact coming from an animal. Instead, Sasha discovered a halfling child, grubby and tear stained and in the remains of what had once been fairly fancy clothing. Stunned, she stood over them, silent even as they looked up and turned huge eyes on her.

The first words out of the halfling’s mouth were “Please don’t eat me!”. In retrospect this was understandable, especially once Sasha learned exactly how long her new friend had been without food or water, and the stories that he had heard about her tower. At the time, however, she couldn’t help but feel slightly offended, and voiced her annoyance.

“I don’t eat  _ people. _ I’m not a monster!”

Despite the words being reassuring, at least by Sasha’s standards, they only led to a renewed burst of tears from the child, sobs threatening to turn into loud wails that would alert even the deafest of guards. Panicking herself now, Sasha scooped up the halfling, pushing back her surprise at how tiny and light he was – barely more than one of the sacks of flour Eldarion had her haul up and down the stairs to help keep her strength up. As much as she’d cursed the practises at the time, Sasha could at least admit they’d come in handy that day, as she dashed towards the tower, arms grasped tightly around the small body in her grasp. With nothing more than a hissed “hold on tight!” she began the climb back up to her room, slipping in through the window like a greased shadow and collapsing them both onto the bed.

It took a good few weeks until Hamid, as he later introduced himself, was ready to talk. For the first few days he did little more than sit shaking in the corner of her room, only ever breaking from his position when food was placed in front of him. It was a good thing that Sasha was cooking her own meals by this point, as despite his tiny frame, the halfling could put away more food than most of the fully-grown guards. She rationed her food out carefully, putting aside the bigger portion for him without really knowing why. It didn’t make sense to keep Hamid like this, especially with the ever-present threat of Eldarion finding out, but there was no way she could just turn him away. There was a part of her that saw his big brown eyes, noticed the way his hands shook as he reached out for food as if he was ready to be chastised for it, and couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortably familiar it all felt.

The feeling of familiarity only grew once Hamid was ready to tell his story. It came out in bits and pieces, snippets told over meals or as the two were curled up together and drifting off to sleep. Most of it didn’t make much sense to Sasha – all the stuff about growing up in somewhere called Fustat, far across the ocean from Albion. Hamid’s descriptions of playing under a scorching sun or travelling across rolling hills of sand might as well have been descriptions of another planet, they felt so alien from the cold green forest that had been the background to Sasha’s life. According to Hamid, the idea of a land filled with green and foliage was just as strange to him when he was little, before he had travelled to the new country to see for himself. It had taken him a while to adapt when he’d been sent abroad to learn, studying at some fancy place called Peterhouse that sounded like Sasha’s idea of hell and Brock’s idea of heaven. For Hamid, it had definitely been more of the former – the grey and miserable weather combined with being thrown headfirst into a culture he had never experienced before had resulted in his first year passing in a blur of homesickness and discomfort, lessons slipping in one ear and out of the other.

The only thing that made the second year more bearable was Gideon. Although he had been fairly distant towards Hamid during their first few terms together, following the rest of the other boys in ignoring the weird foreign halfling who spent most of his time in tears, something must have changed over the summer. When Hamid returned, suitcase full of comfort food he was too scared to ask the kitchens to even attempt to cook for him, he was shocked to be greeted by Gideon, who smiled and asked him how the time away had been. The other boys hadn’t been quite as welcoming, but they tolerated him now enough to at the very least acknowledge his existence, allowing him into their inner circle with only minimal grumbling. It had felt so good to be noticed, to have people see him as something approaching an equal, that Hamid willingly turned a blind eye to some of their more… unsavoury comments, or the way that the younger boys started avoiding his gaze out of something that felt worryingly like fear. He was included, and surely that was all that mattered? All he had to do was make sure he did whatever it took to stay here, stay in their good graces.

It wasn’t long before “whatever it took” started taking its toll. The constant fear of rejection, warring with the growing hatred Hamid felt whenever he witnessed one of the others picking on someone smaller, weaker, less able to push aside the quirks of their identity and assimilate. He didn’t know which felt worse, that he was friends with people who did this, or the way he found himself changing – writing home less often, letting the clothes he brought from home sit at the bottom of his chest in favour of wearing what the other boys wore. Whatever the cause, it sat in the pit of his stomach, causing random cramps and periods of nausea he couldn’t explain. His nails were worked raw by picking, his sleep disturbed out of its usual pattern; even his skin, already dulled slightly by the lack of sun, took on a sickly tinge.

In the end, it was Gideon who brought it all to a head. It was the end of the first term of their third year, and the two of them had been planning a prank to mark the final day of teaching, a sure way to have their exploits discussed throughout the break. Although Gideon was facing the whole thing with his usual cool demeanour, Hamid was a mess of nerves. The whole week leading up to their plan had been a restless one, his dreams a mass of flames and heat in an odd contrast to the increasingly cold weather, and Hamid wanted nothing more than to get it all over with. As he recounted the tale to Sasha, he mentioned the feeling of dread on that final day, the way his skin felt too tight and too hot, the itching in his limbs and the restless energy that built within him. That was clear in his mind, still painfully etched into his memory. What wasn’t clear, however, was what had happened next.

Hamid spoke in a shaking voice of the heat, of the agony in every bone. The moment of clarity before the small explosion he and Gideon had set, and then the rush of the blast, so much stronger than they had anticipated. The silence before the screams set in, a second of peace before all hell broke loose

The school’s official line was that the prank had merely backfired, a miscalculation made by Hamid that led to things going wrong. It was certainly the line Hamid’s parents were willing to spread, as they explained in the letter he showed Sasha, although their precise words were blurred through tear stains.

The truth was also there, hidden under layers of euphemism that Sasha had to get Hamid to decipher for her. Posh people, as it turned out, refused to talk normally, a fact that Sasha complained about loudly and often – mostly just because it made Hamid laugh. He got very mopey when he talked about his parents, especially when he talked about the letter. It was pretty brutal once you’d got through the flowery language, Sasha had to admit. The way they talked about Hamid losing control, exploding out in a ball of fire, incinerating the room he was in. The cold way they recounted the injuries, the death, the curse.

According to Hamid’s parents, their bloodline was cursed. Years ago, one of their members had apparently angered a dragon who vowed that their descendants would bear the mark of their displeasure, a curse in their blood that would reveal itself. It was this mark, this draconic magic running through Hamid’s veins, that had been behind the tragedy – not that the al-Tahans would have anyone learn of this. Hamid had been expelled, of course, but the letter stated quite clearly that he would not be welcome home, not with the shame he would have brought on the family name. As far as the wider world was concerned, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan had died in the same fire that tragically killed his classmates. His family put on a show of mourning for their lost son, even as he fled the school in disgrace, wandering through the forests of Albion until he reached Sasha’s clearing.

At first, all the talk of curses and dragons seemed way too far fetched for Sasha. Sure, she’d heard stories about stuff like that from Eldarion, but it had usually been followed with a more rational explanation, or even just outright dismissal. It wasn’t until Sasha saw with her own eyes the pattern of brass coloured scales that could be seen around the edges of the burn marks on Hamid’s arms, the ones that looked like they had healed much more quickly than they should have, that she started to have suspicions. And as Hamid grew, and his draconic features grew with him, she had no choice but to believe. It took them a while to learn how to control his powers, to focus the anxiety and redirect it before things started setting on fire, but with time, Hamid became an invaluable friend to Sasha. They grew together, planned together, and even chased the guards away from the tower once Hamid got powerful enough. Sasha still dreamed of running away, finding her place in the big wide world, but for now she was content to sit and plan, while Hamid scared off anyone who dared to get too close.

Or at least, tried to.


	6. Chapter Five

No one moved. No one, that was, except the halfling. He stepped shakily forward and extended a hand to Azu, stammering out a “M-my name is Hamid. Please don’t kill us!”

The group looked at each other in confusion. Azu could see the conflict plain on their faces. Grizzop and Ed looked like they were on the brink of charging forward anyway, with only the sheer shock of the situation keeping them back. Whatever happened next, whoever this Hamid was, she knew she couldn’t let them at it. Judging by the absolute look of fascination on Cel’s face, it was probably a good idea not to let the alchemist anywhere near the dragon either. She could already see the invasive questions building up and could imagine the hours of investigation that could follow if she left the two alone together.

To her surprise, however, it was Zolf who stepped forward. He hadn’t exactly given the impression of being inclined towards diplomacy – or even long conversations – and Azu readied herself to wade in when it inevitably went wrong. The dwarf took Hamid’s hand and shook it, but his gaze never left the figure at his side. After a couple of seconds, he dropped the handshake and cleared his throat.

“Listen, are you Sasha Rackett?”

Sasha scowled in response. “Who’s asking?”

Zolf took a deep breath. “My name’s Zolf Smith. I work for a group called the Harlequins. We’re, uh, well we’re trying to get rid of the Lord of Ludenwic. And seeing as how you’re his niece-“

Anything Zolf was about to say was completely drowned out in the chaos that followed. Grizzop and Ed started firing off questions, although Grizzop’s were certainly more accusatory than Ed, who mostly just wanted to know what was going on. Cel seemed to be yelling something about feeling betrayed, and Azu couldn’t blame them. She couldn’t believe  _ this  _ was what Zolf had been keeping from them this whole time. Admittedly she’d never quite questioned why a cleric of Poseidon would be sent on such a quest, and he had seemed remarkably uncomfortable when they’d passed the temple in Dubris. Nevertheless she’d chosen to trust him, genuinely believing she was being sent on a noble quest to rescue a damsel and slay a beast. Now that was all falling down around her, and Azu didn’t know what to think.

Sasha seemed to be just as overwhelmed as she was. Her eyes were darting around the group, hand drifting towards what looked like a dagger at her waist as she backed up towards the tower, clearly seeking out familiar ground. The panic in her face helped spur Azu onwards. She may have been completely thrown off by Zolf’s revelation and the sudden complication when the beast she was due to slay turned into a surprisingly well-dressed and polite halfling, but she was still a paladin of Aphrodite. If there was someone in distress, she needed to help.

Carefully making herself look as approachable as possible, Azu moved through the mass of yelling towards the young woman. Sasha looked up as she approached, eyes still wide with panic, and Azu stretched out a hand in response, trying desperately to soothe her.

“I know it’s overwhelming” she said, keeping her voice low and soft, “but I’m sure Zolf knows what he is talking about. Hear us out, let him tell his tale. Then, if you want, we can leave. We did not come to harm you, I swear.”

Some of the panic seemed to be bleeding out of Sasha and she nodded curtly. Azu smiled. She wasn’t entirely sure how much of her own words she believed, but they seemed to be helping Sasha at least. There was something about the woman that drew Azu to her, that seemed to trigger every instinct she had to protect and help. Perhaps it was a sign from Aphrodite, leading her to someone who needed more love in their life, or perhaps it was just a natural response to seeing someone so clearly distraught. Whatever the case, it pushed Azu to reach out a friendly hand.

Once the rest of the group had calmed down somewhat, Hamid invited them inside, nervously looking at Sasha for permission before he did. Azu was surprised when his request was met with a short nod, as apparently was Hamid, who ushered them in so quickly it felt like he was worried his friend would change her mind. They were led up a spiral staircase that seemed to run through the centre of the tower, past doors that lead off it at regular intervals. Azu tried to look in some of them as they passed, but most appeared to be nothing more than storage, or so full of dust and cobwebs that even a quick glimpse made her eyes prickle.

The room that Hamid showed them into appeared to be his, at least judging by the amount of fabric that covered almost every surface. Azu had never seen so much cloth in one room and, judging by the astonished looks on her companions' faces and the slightly sheepish look on Hamid’s as he invited them in, this kind of reaction was not surprising. Hamid didn’t comment on his… unusual belongings but judging by the slightly proud look that had crept onto Sasha’s face, Azu could infer that they may not have been acquired strictly legally. The group awkwardly filed into the room which was clearly not built to hold so many people, without even considering the presence of two rather large paladins in full plate armour. Grizzop ended up scurrying to the top of a wardrobe, while Zolf collapsed onto a pile of fabric, not noticing the slight wince on Hamid’s face. Once everyone was in, and as settled as they could be, the dwarf began his tale.

As it turned out, the Harlequins were an underground group, dedicated to serving the interests of the masses and protecting them against any members of the gentry who let power go to their heads. Zolf had been recruited after his brother died, a subject he only briefly brought up before giving everyone a glare that clearly said “Do  _ not  _ ask me about this again”. He had been working with a network of others, a mix of clergy and lay-people from all areas of society, primarily concerned with the affairs of Albion. However, the group had collected enough information about what might have been happening in The Dark Woods – rumours about Ludenwic’s disaster, tales of the lost heiress, whispers about a beast cropping up in more recent years – that Zolf’s superior had set him on the case. Tales of Carter’s experience, as well as unearthed information about the missing member of the al-Tahan family who had apparently not perished in a freak accident at school, had led Zolf to Cairo, where a visit to the temple of Aphrodite had pointed him in Azu’s direction. The rest Azu was all too familiar with, although Zolf did clarify that the man he met in the pub in Dover was a fellow Harlequin, their man on the inside of the Queen’s men known as Barnes.

As the tale reached more familiar territory, Azu sat back, allowing her gaze to pass over the group. Cel seemed to have forgotten their earlier outrage and was now listening intently. The look of fascination on their face was matched by Ed, sat cross legged on the floor next to them. Although Grizzop was clearly trying to seem disinterested, Azu could see his ears flicking gently as he listened, just as wrapped up in the story as the rest of them. While Hamid had looked distinctly uncomfortable at the mention of the al-Tahan boy – now that Azu was looking for it, he did bear a striking resemblance to the few members she had come across in Fustat – he seemed to be just as enchanted as everyone else. Although, whether that was due to the tale or the person telling it, Azu wasn’t sure. Even she could admit that there was a magnetic quality to Zolf as he spoke, the way his eyes lit up slightly as he continued to tell his story and his usual brusque nature gave way to a more energetic retelling.

There was however one member of their newly expanded group who seemed to be missing. As Azu looked around the room, she couldn’t help but notice that Sasha had vanished. When she asked, Hamid said something about her escaping to the roof, an occurrence apparently so common he didn’t feel the need to chase after her. Still, the concern in his voice pushed Azu to investigate, and so she followed his directions up the staircase, through a clearly homemade hatch in the ceiling of the tower, and up onto the roof.

Sasha was there, curled up into a tight ball and perched precariously on one of the ledges. Azu hesitated at the edge of the window, not sure whether her presence would be appreciated or whether the roof was strong enough to take the weight of both her and her armour. Luckily, both her fears were assuaged when Sasha mumbled “You’re alright to climb over”. As gently as she could, Azu picked her way across the tiles, heart leaping in her chest whenever one creaked or her foot slipped slightly. Eventually she reached Sasha’s side, carefully sitting down next to the other woman. They sat together in silence for a beat, until Azu spoke.

“Are you okay? I can only imagine how… overwhelming this all is.”

Sasha laughed, but there was no humour in it. 

“No kidding. You ever been told your whole life’s a lie, that your parents were probably murdered by the uncle you didn’t even know you had, all to get control of a place you’ve never been to?”

“No.” Azu replied, her voice matter of fact. There was no point in pretending she had even the faintest idea of what Sasha was going through, but there were other ways to help people. In this case, the straight-forward approach seemed to be working. It sparked a genuine laugh from Sasha this time, her eyes crinkling slightly in the closest Azu had seen to her smile.

“Fair enough,” she said, voice lighter than it had been before. “S’not every day you hear something like that.”

“It really isn’t!” Azu laughed, as the sheer absurdity of the situation hit her. Sasha’s strange half-smile deepened, just for a second, before she seemed to sober up.

“Will… will I have to go there? To Ludenwic? And… I dunno, fight this guy?”

Azu shrugged. “If you want. It’s your choice really. I’m sure Zolf and his group will be able to sort it out without us. And even if they can’t, it’s still all your choice. Whatever you want to do, I’ll stand by it.”

“Why the hell would you want to do that?” Sasha asked, scepticism creeping into her voice. Azu shrugged.

“I’m a paladin of Aphrodite. Or at least, I will be, once I complete this quest. Protecting people comes with the position. One of the things we believe in is the ability to follow your heart, to make your own decisions to protect yourself and the ones you love. If staying here is the choice you want to make, then I’ll help you stand by that decision.” Azu paused and looked over at Sasha. “I’m here to protect you, Sasha. Even if what I swore to protect you when I started this quest doesn’t seem to be as big a threat as it sounded.”

The small smile was back again, and the sight of it warmed Azu’s heart.

The two of them sat for a while on the roof, silently watching the sun begin to dip behind the tree line. Eventually, Hamid’s head popped up through the hatch in the roof, startling Azu into almost falling off. He let them both know that Zolf was preparing another meal, eyes shining in anticipation at what Azu could only assume was going to be a delicious feast. Sheepishly, the two of them slipped back into the tower, joining the rest of the group in what Sasha and Hamid had clearly fashioned into a dining area.

The meal passed without much drama, a welcome break from the intensity of earlier. Azu and Hamid bonded over their shared love of Fustat’s food, reminiscing over dishes from Hamid’s childhood that he still held close to his heart and that Azu had grown to love during her time at the temple. Zolf made a few joking remarks about his own food not being up to scratch, which were of course met by furious denial. Cel even chimed in with stories about the various delicacies they had experienced on their travels, much to Ed’s delight. It felt cosy somehow, relaxed and intimate in a way that Azu had not been expecting. Most of these people had only just met, yet they were eating and laughing together like a family.

After dinner, however, the conversation was forced to become a lot more serious. It was clear that Zolf was trying not to mention the plan to take back Ludenwic while people were eating, but once the plates had been cleared away, the mood in the room suddenly became a lot more sombre.

“Right.” Zolf said, pushing back from the table and rising to his full, albeit rather limited, height. “We need to talk about Sasha.”

***

As it turned out, Sasha was willing to travel to Ludenwic, although she made no promises about taking control back when she got there. She looked over to Azu as she laid out her terms, and Azu gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Thankfully Zolf didn’t seem too put out, and Hamid even gave his friend a wide grin and thumbs up, which Sasha seemed to appreciate.

The rest of the night was spent in strategy. Zolf mentioned a contact, someone who was familiar with the workings of Ludenwic and was in a high enough position at court to provide useful and accurate information into Barrett’s workings. They would meet with this person on the outskirts of the city, keeping a low profile until the time was right and using this new information to finalise their plan. Admittedly Azu didn’t have much experience planning political coups or assassinations, but Zolf seemed confident in his decisions, and Grizzop even chipped in with suggestions based on his experience with hunts. As it turned out, a lifetime spent learning how to track down animals while staying completely concealed had its uses when planning a stealth mission, and Azu appreciated this expertise. Both she and Ed were proof that stealth was not usually a paladin’s strong suit, Grizzop being the obvious exception. It was useful having people like him and like Sasha, who had already proven herself adept at sneaking in and out of situations, to advise them.

After a night’s rest, spent curled up in whichever corner of the tower was free enough of dust and debris to lay down a bedroll, the group rose early the next morning. For once, everyone was as raring to go as Grizzop was, the air between them all charged with excitement, anticipation, and a fair amount of anxiety. It all felt like a jump into the unknown, Azu mused as she packed up her things and prepared to leave. She had been told often that her quest would be a leap of faith – that was after all the aim of a paladin’s final quest – but this was not what she was expecting. Still, as she surveyed the eclectic group of adventurers she had found herself with, she couldn’t help but feel love in her heart. This was where she was  _ meant  _ to be, even if it wasn’t where she was expecting to be.

The journey to Ludenwic was fairly uneventful, especially now there wasn’t a ferocious beast to be worried about. Hamid still flinched though every time they passed a patch of burnt grass, although Sasha would give him a reassuring rub on the shoulder each time. The two of them shared Cel’s horse, just as Grizzop perched on the back of Zolf’s pony and Cel somehow ended up on Topaz, clinging onto Azu’s armour for dear life. Ed was apparently perfectly happy to travel on foot and Ludenwic was close enough to the tower’s clearing that it wasn’t too much of a sacrifice for him.

It almost seemed like barely any time had passed at all by the time they approached the city gates, standing tall and firm as a barrier against the rest of the world. If what she had heard and what Zolf had told them of the town’s politics was any indication, the formidable appearance of the city gates was a good indicator of how things were inside. Luckily, Barnes had passed Zolf documents back in Dubris that allowed them entry. They could just be flashed in front of the guards who stood at the city gates and looked just official enough that they were allowed through without any questions asked. Given their group consisted of four members of four different religions, a halfling with a striking resemblance to one of Fustat’s most influential families and someone who may or may not be the rightful heir to the city, this was a blessing that not even Azu could have considered praying for.

Once inside, Zolf directed them to a house on the edge of town, one that stood empty and lifeless. Outside of the clear lack of activity inside, it could have been one of many that lined the streets of the city, save for a small insignia carved into the doorframe that seemed to match the symbol on a small signet ring Zolf wore on his finger. Azu had noticed it before – the cleric would often fidget with it in the calm moments on board the ship, and although it was rather plain and unassuming, it also seemed almost calculatedly so. As Zolf pressed it into the doorframe and twisted, a small and quiet click resonated from within. The door swung open and Zolf entered, fiddling with something just inside for a few seconds before beckoning the others to enter after him.

“My contact should already be here. They’ve been hiding out for a couple days now, or at least that was the plan. I’ll introduce you all, but just to be careful, it’d be better if I went in with just Sasha for now. They won’t be expecting… the rest of you.”

Sasha shook her head. “Either Azu comes with, or I don’t go.”

Azu couldn’t help but give a little grin at those words. She hadn't realised Sasha trusted her so much, but clearly some part of their talk had remained with her. It felt nice, knowing the other woman was ready to accept her protection.

Zolf rolled his eyes in response but didn’t say anything further, beckoning the two forward and into one of the house’s front rooms. There, sat at one of the chairs arranged around what appeared to be a wooden dining table, sat an elf.

She was strikingly beautiful. Azu couldn’t help but stare at her high cheekbones, the slight glimmer to her skin and the way her hair, even as dishevelled as it appeared to be, still fell artfully around her shoulders. The sheer stunning appearance of her made the elf look completely out of place in such a bare and rudimentary setting, and only cemented Zolf’s claims that this was a member of Barrett’s court.

Azu was so starstruck by the appearance of this beautiful creature that she almost missed the way Sasha stiffened beside her, freezing up out of instinct. The elf’s eyes fell on Azu’s companion and widened, once-perfect lashes clearly gummed together with tears.

“S-sasha?” the elf said, voice cracking slightly with emotion. Sasha shook her head, backing away ever so slightly.

“You – you can’t be here. You  _ can’t. _ ” she said, just as overcome but with a very different tone. Where the elf sounded hopeful, relieved even, Sasha’s voice was a mix of terror and anger. “You can’t be here because you  _ left _ , you left me and you lied to me for all those years and now you’re working for the man who told me the truth and…”

Her voice trailed off into heaving breaths. Azu recognised the sound of panic - she could have identified it in her sleep. She leapt into action, gently guiding Sasha to a nearby chair, carefully turned away from the elf’s eyeline. Sasha’s chest was still heaving, breath whistling through her lungs, but the tension in her shoulder loosened just slightly at Azu’s gentle touch.

“It’s okay, Sasha. It’s alright. I’m here. Breathe with me, slowly this time.” Azu said, voice as soft as possible. Sasha nodded shakily, her breaths slowly starting to even out as she matched Azu’s own exaggerated breathing. The room was filled with a deeply awkward silence, save for the heavy sound of inhalation and exhalation, until the elf spoke up.

“I… am sorry, Sasha. Not for what I did – everything I ever did for you was to save you, to keep you from Barrett’s influence and ensure you stayed safe for long enough to take your rightful place, but… I am sorry for deceiving you. I am sorry for keeping the truth from you for all these years, even though I thought it was for the best.”

Azu kept her eyes on Sasha as the elf spoke, carefully watching her new friend’s expression. The panic was slowly draining, although the anger remained. Sasha took a deep, shaking breath, and spoke.

“What about Brock. What happened to him.”

Although her words were questioning, her tone was as flat as the table beside them. The elf visibly winced, looking to Zolf for what Azu assumed to be some kind of reassurance, but the dwarf’s face remained stony. Surprisingly, his new-found loyalty to Sasha appeared to be winning out over any connection he had to this person, to the Harlequins.

The elf sighed. “Barrett knew you were in that tower. He sent guards to look over you, to stop people like Zolf coming to rescue you and try and take what he had stolen from your parents, but he couldn’t have people remembering you were there. He has… I don’t know what it is, and it is going to sound ridiculous, but it’s some kind of magic. It keeps people from asking too many questions, and when the guards came back from their postings, he removed all memories of ever having been there. Brock was sent as some kind of – I don’t know, a test? Although whether it was you or I he was testing I will never know. I think Barrett was expecting him to be a spy, gain your trust as your peer and report back to him, but when he was summoned to court, Brock refused to say anything. Whatever Barrett did, whatever magic he uses to take memories, it went wrong. The two of you had spent so much time together that you had become ingrained in his very identity. The attempt to remove you from his mind simply took… too much. I’m sorry, Sasha, but Brock… Brock is dead.”

At those words, Sasha crumpled, like a puppet who had just had its strings severed. Zolf stepped forward, a warning note in his voice.

“That’s enough, Eldarion. You’ve proved it’s her, so we don’t need Sasha present now. Azu, would you mind taking Sasha into another room and sending in the others? We can take it from here.”

Azu nodded, scooping Sasha up into her arms and taking her from the room. The other woman didn’t put up much of a protest, but as they passed Eldarion, she turned to meet the elf’s gaze.

“I – I don’t forgive you. Not for what you’ve done.” She said, her voice thick with emotion. “I know that you’re useful, and I know that Zolf trusts you. But once this is over… I don’t think I want to see you again.”

The last Azu saw of Eldarion as the pair exited the room was the elf’s head bowed in shame. As she shepherded Sasha out of the room, Azu passed the expectant faces of the rest of the group. She gave them a quick nod, gesturing for them to go into the room the two of them had just left, and took Sasha into a smaller side room across the corridor. Luckily this appeared to be a bedroom, allowing Azu to deposit her friend onto the small bed that sat in the corner, wrapping its heavy blankets around her.

Sasha blinked up at her and smiled weakly. 

“Thanks, mate.” she said hoarsely.

Azu smiled back, laying a hand on her shoulder. “I told you, I’ll protect you. And if that includes weird elf ladies who apparently lied to you your whole life, then so be it.”

She moved to sit next to Sasha on the bed, carefully leaving a gap between the two of them. Sasha didn’t seem like the most physically affectionate of people, and Azu had been taught never to force any kind of comfort on people who would not appreciate it, no matter how sure you were that it would make them feel better. Although Sasha didn’t lean in, Azu could tell that her presence was appreciated.

“Can I… tell you something?” Sasha was so quiet that Azu almost missed her words, but as soon as she processed the request she nodded enthusiastically.

Sasha took a deep breath, and began to tell Azu about her childhood, about growing up trapped behind four walls, about meeting someone who finally made her feel free and having that freedom ripped from her. Azu sat and listened, not interjecting or interrupting, simply letting Sasha unload on her as the day passed and their friends planned in the next room, plotting a way to help Sasha get her revenge.


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for mild peril/temporary character death in this chapter, taking place between the lines 'Right at the large chunk of debris falling straight towards her head.' and '“Alright Azu...” Sasha mumbled, words slurring ever so slightly. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”'

The plan, as told to Azu and Sasha later, was surprisingly simple. Although Lord Barrett Rackett had seized his power through force, he did still uphold his duties as a lord to hear the concerns of his citizens. Every week, he would allow those from within the boundaries of his land to come forward with any problems they had, seeking his wisdom or at the very least some aid. As the least… distinctive of the group, Ed was elected to be sent undercover as a local farmer looking for protection against bandits threatening his livestock. Unfortunately, Ed proved himself to be an absolutely terrible liar even within the relatively relaxed setting of their planning session, and so it was agreed that Zolf would accompany him to keep an eye out, disguised with the use of a very heavy cloak as Ed’s child. The look of pure irritation on Zolf’s face as he recounted that particular part of the plan was almost enough to make Azu laugh in any other situation. 

Whilst Ed was inside, hopefully distracting Rackett with stories of agricultural anxiety, the others would spread through the city. Eldarion had apparently been sending out her own agents under the pretence of rooting out any dissent, and so had an established network of those who were beginning to chafe under their Lord’s control. Apparently, there was a large group of young people, predominantly formed of those born after Rackett’s takeover, who had been forming an underground resistance. Cel, Grizzop and Hamid would find these people, bring them together into as much of a force as they could muster, and storm part of the castle. According to Eldarion, the source of Barrett’s power was kept in a heavily protected room in the west wing, and so while the resistance headed for the eastern most section, Sasha and Azu would take advantage of the distraction that the others were causing and sneak in. The two of them would break past the defences – a combination of Sasha’s skills with locks and Azu’s brute force and then –

“What next?” Sasha asked, nervously spinning a dagger on the kitchen table and ignoring Zolf’s glares and muttered comments about her denting the surface. “What do we do once we get in there?” 

There was a sheepish pause. Finally, Grizzop spoke up.

“According to our inside source,” he said with a rather pointed glare at Eldarion “we dunno. Could be anything in there, for all we know.”

Azu couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows. “So our incredibly detailed plan culminates in me and Sasha going into an unknown room to do… something?”

Her question was met with a mumbled response somewhere along the lines of ‘that’s mostly what we thought’ and a lot of faces avoiding both her and Sasha’s eyes. Azu sighed before turning to Sasha.

“Are you alright with this?”

Sasha shrugged. “It’s as good a plan as any. Sides, you and me, I reckon we could do it.”

Her faith in Azu made the paladin’s heart swell. They barely knew each other, and yet Sasha trusted her not only to be there, but for the two of them to succeed. As the others went back to poring over maps of the city, drawing out routes and briefing Ed for the fifth time on his cover story, Azu took Sasha aside.

“I know this is… a lot, all at once, and I know that you’ve been somewhat thrown into it all at the deep end, but I just wanted to say… thank you for trusting me. Thank you for trusting all of us with this. I know it can’t be easy for you and it really means a lot.”

There must have been something in her voice, the earnest tone with which she spoke, that had thrown Sasha off. That could be the only explanation behind the slight blush that dusted Sasha’s cheeks. The other woman shrugged, looking for a moment like she was about to put up a front and pretend she wasn’t affected. But then Sasha looked up and caught Azu’s gaze, and Azu knew there was no hiding the emotion in her eyes.

“S’not really about the others,” she mumbled, still not quite confident enough in her feelings to express them clearly. “It’s just… No one’s ever said they’d protect me and meant it, y’know? You’ve seen Eldarion’s idea of protection, that was all just lying with a fancy hat on, and as much as Hamid says he’ll be there for me, it’s me who usually needs to be there for him. You just… it’s so natural for you? You just came and you saw me and said you’d be there for me and you meant it and I just. Thanks, Azu.”

“You are very welcome Sasha.” Azu replied, trying very hard to keep her smile from creeping into her voice and failing miserably. The two of them stood together, silent but smiling, until they were interrupted by Grizzop’s voice coming from somewhere around their kneecaps, yelling at them to quit standing around and get back to planning. Reluctantly, they did. 

***

The first part of the plan went off without a hitch. 

Sasha and Azu were hidden away in the castle’s grounds, awaiting the two signals that would let them know when they were ready to strike. The first was so subtle that Azu almost missed it – it was only Sasha’s keen hearing that caught the soft sound of a bird call that meant that Ed had succeeded in gaining the lord’s attention and would distract him for as long as possible.

The second signal was much more obvious. The roar of the angry crowd that was gaining on the castle only grew in volume, a wave of noise that reached even their hiding place. Given it was also accompanied by the literal roar of a nigh on fully grown dragon, even Azu had to acknowledge that their time had come. From where they were concealed, they could just about make out a plume of smoke curling up in the distance.

“Looks like it’s time then,” Azu said grimly, gripping the handle of her axe in readiness. Sasha only nodded, daggers drawn and a grim look on her face. The two of them crept into the castle through a side passage that Eldarion had assured them was usually reserved for servants. It was, thankfully, deserted. Still, Azu held her breath as they moved, trying to make as little noise as possible. It had taken a lot of practise to learn how to move almost undetected in full plate armour, and every small clank and scrape of the metal rang in her ears like the toll of a bell. 

Every twist and turn of the passage looked exactly the same to Azu, but somehow the two of them made it through. Their journey ended with them slipping through a heavy wooden door onto an almost completely empty landing, save for an equally formidable looking door set into the wall opposite. It didn’t look particularly well protected at first glance, save for the usual difficulties of heaving open a heavy door, but one look at Sasha’s face showed how difficult their task was. Her brow was furrowed so intently she was squinting, and her fingers were already dancing over the set of lock picks at her belt. Azu stepped to the side and let her do her work, watching as a series of small pointy objects materialised out of Sasha’s pockets and were inserted into various nooks and crannies.

Eldarion had also warned of magical protections, and so while Sasha tackled the more practical aspects, Azu set to work scoring long gashes into the various runes that had been carved into the wood. Although the concept of magic was still one that boggled Azu, the faint wisps of glittery… something that appeared as she worked, floating out from the wood as the runes were defaced, seemed to imply something was happening. She turned to Sasha, eyes wide, but the other woman was so engrossed in her work that she didn’t appear to notice. It was so strange to Azu, the idea that mere days ago she had been arguing with Cel about whether magic even existed. Yet in such a small period she had seen so many examples, so much proof, that it was enough to make her head spin. 

Luckily, she was distracted from the minor existential crisis she was having by a final, decisive click from the locks and a deeply contented sigh from Sasha. She stood up, bones cracking in a way that made Azu write a mental note to give her a once over when their work was done, and nodded. Azu smiled and braced herself, pushing against the door. Even accounting for the fact that it was made of a sturdy oak, she was surprised at how much force was required to slowly push the door open. She had to put so much effort into shoving at the door that her face contorted with it, and she didn’t get a good look at what was revealed by her work. It was only when she heard the loud gasp from the otherwise silent Sasha that Azu turned, ready to see whatever Eldarion claimed was the source of Barrett’s power, the one thing allowing him to keep the people of Ludenwic under his thumb.

At first, it didn’t look like much more than some swirling vapours. There was a faint glow coming from them, casting odd shadows on the ground, and for a second all Azu could think of was the stories she’d been told as a child of evil spirits that walked the earth. But this was more tangible than any of the spirits her village spoke of. The smoke looked thick, almost solid, as if, were Azu to sweep her hand through it, parts would stick to her, trailing behind like cobwebs. It swirled in the air for a second before coalescing into something that could almost be called a face, if you had never seen a face before in your life. 

“Hello!” it said, and its voice was almost gratingly cheerful. Both Sasha and Azu tensed, hands flying immediately to their respective weapons. 

“You don’t need to do that!” the smoke continued. “I won’t hurt you! I would never hurt new friends!”

“New… friends?” Azu repeated, unable to stop disbelief from creeping into her voice.

The face nodded, for want of a better word. The smoke that comprised it rippled, like the waves formed when a stone was dropped into some kind of viscous liquid. “I love making new friends! But they don’t stay for very long. They don’t come back either, but that’s because it isn’t allowed.”

“What do you mean they aren’t allowed?”

“They aren’t allowed to remember when they meet me! Like how they aren’t allowed to remember that they met the girl in the tower. I think I'd like to be friends with the girl in the tower!”

At this, Azu glanced over at Sasha. The other woman had gone completely white, her skin even paler than it normally was and her lips drained of colour where they were tightly pressed together. It looked like she was shaking almost imperceptibly. 

The voice continued. “I think I have met the girl in the tower. But I wasn’t me when I met her.”

Slowly, a gear clicked into place deep in Azu’s brain. “Do you remember meeting her?”

Another nod. 

“Were those memories from other people?”

“I think so! But they’re from me now!” There was a short pause and then, “I miss the girl in the tower. She was my friend.”

Azu frowned. “But you just said you wanted to make friends with her. How can she already be your friend?”

“She was my friend when I wasn’t me! When I was someone else!”

Sasha, who had been so silent and still throughout the conversation she could almost have been mistaken for a statue, finally spoke. When she did, her voice was thick with emotion, like her grief was a hand around her neck. 

“Do you remember our games, Brock? Playing dice?”

There was a second of silence that stretched into hours of waiting, before the thing spoke.

“You never play with Sasha, cause Sasha’s red dice are always weighted, and-“

“That’s enough!” Sasha’s voice had an edge to it when she spoke again, cutting the smoke off almost literally. Azu stared at her, trying to project comfort but struggling against the force of her concern. “You took them, didn’t you? You’re what Barrett used to take Brock’s memories and now he’s in you and you’re him but you’re not and, and, and…”

In hindsight, Azu should have noticed the way Sasha’s body tensed, ready to spring. As it was, she had no more than a second's warning before her friend launched herself at the smoke thing, knives out and teeth bared. It took all of Azu's strength to jump forward and hold her back, getting a punch in the eye from a flailed fist for her troubles.

“Sasha, you need to wait. We don’t know what it’s capable of, or whether it’s even the one controlling everything!”

“I don’t care!” Sasha snarled. “That thing killed Brock!”

“And how do you know that launching yourself at it won’t kill you too?” Even the thought of it had Azu choking up. “Sasha, we've come this far. I can’t lose you here. Please.”

Sasha sagged in her arms, her righteous fury fading. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just heard Brock’s name and…”

“I know.” Azu said quietly, “As much as I hate to say this, we do need to talk to it a little longer.”

“Oh I like talking!” the smoke piped up. “I don’t get to talk to people very often. Just Barrett Rackett and my new friends, and they aren’t allowed to remember me. I used to be able to talk to everyone in the city, but not anymore.”

This sounded interesting. Eldarion had mentioned that there was some kind of magic that Rackett used to keep people from discussing the tower, or any criticisms they had of their leader, but the large crowd of angry young people currently storming the castle seemed to be an exception. Rackett had also stopped sending guards to Sasha’s tower once she got older, and Eldarion had overheard him mentioning that it was getting harder for him to keep their mouths shut. And now this… smoke spirit thing was talking about its powers getting weaker. This could be the sign they were looking for. The smoke continued talking, unaware of the thoughts swimming through Azu’s mind.

“There’s lots of people that are me. Francois Henri says there are too many people in me. Barrett Rackett wasn’t happy about that. He made Francois Henri part of me. I miss Francois Henri.”

Azu looked blankly at Sasha. The name felt like it should be significant, but she couldn’t place it. 

“Henri was one of Rackett’s advisors.” Sasha explained. “Eladarion used to complain about him when she didn’t think I was listening. He went missing though, a couple years ago, or at least that’s what she said last night.”

“You don’t think…” Azu trailed off, waving her hand at the smoke monster in a gesture she hoped conveyed her suspicions that Henri had shared the same fate as Brock. 

Sasha shrugged. “Maybe? Sounds like he knew something about this thing that Rackett didn’t. Maybe he was the one who brought whatever this is to Rackett in the first place. Makes sense, if they tried to wipe his memories too, that there would be too much to take”

So Henri had been absorbed into this creature. His memories had been stolen and his mind now lived within whatever limbo Brock was trapped in. The thought was horrifying, but it did gave Azu an idea.

She stepped forward, releasing Sasha from her grip and facing the smoke head on. Azu may not have had the magical knowledge of Francois Henri, nor the power and ambition of Barrett Rackett, but she did have something else, something important. She was a paladin of Aphrodite, and if there was one thing she knew, it was how to reach out to people.

Taking a deep and only slightly shaking breath, Azu pulled herself up to her full height and stared the smoke right in the eyes. “Can you hear me? Brock, and Mr Henri, and everyone else whose mind has been touched. I know you are there and I am so sorry that this has happened to you. But I need your help. I need you to fight back.”

The face stared back, expressionless, but there was a flickering quality to it that wasn’t there before, as though it was destabilising. Sasha stared at her, eyes as wide as dinner plates, but realisation slowly dawned on her face.

“Brock?” she said, joining Azu where she stood. “Brock, if you can hear me, I miss you mate. You were my first friend and my best friend, and I know that you would have done anything for me, just like I’d do anything for you. So help me stop this thing, help me set everyone free.”

The face shook, bits of it splintering off into wisps of smoke that dissipated in the air. Even the walls around them began to quake, as if the magic keeping the monster together was woven into the very foundations of the castle. Bits of debris started falling from the ceiling, small pieces of dust and rubble at first but slowly increasing in size as whatever creature was sustaining it cracked and split and finally, with a wail that sounded inhuman, disappeared.

Azu stood in the slowly disintegrating room and heaved a sigh of relief. “We did it, Sasha. They’re free now, they're all free.”

Sasha smiled, the widest Azu had ever seen her smile before. “He’s free.” She whispered in response, staring up at where the spirit had disappeared.

Right at the large chunk of debris falling straight towards her head.

It collided with a loud crack, smacking into Sasha’s skull. Her body collapsed, crumpling to the floor at Azu’s feet, limp and lifeless.

It took several seconds for Azu to realise the screams were coming from her. She fell to her knees beside Sasha, cradling her in her arms. Her screams devolved into babbling, a rush of pleas and begging. At first it was to Sasha, pleading with her to wake up, to open her eyes or give some sign of life, anything. Then she started directing her pleas to a higher power.

“Aphrodite, oh goddess Aphrodite, please, you who love and are loved, you who watches over us all and cares for everyone. Please, please, she can’t be dead, she can’t, we've done it, we've got this far and she can’t be dead now, she can’t. I love her, Aphrodite, she's been through so much and she still trusts me, and I can’t lose her now”

As she sobbed out her prayer, eyes tightly closed and gripping Sasha for dear life, something strange happened. Something started glowing in front of her, so bright she could see it even through her closed eyelids. She opened her eyes and was almost blinded by the warm pink light, so much so that it took her a couple of seconds to work out where it was coming from.

Sasha’s body was still cradled in her arms, blood still streaking down her forehead, but where the rock had gashed her a brilliant light was emanating from the wound. As Azu watched in awe, the edges of the cut seemed to come together, sealing shut with nothing more than a slight scar, standing out against Sasha’s pale skin. Her eyelids fluttered and opened, staring blankly for a second before her gaze focused on Azu's face. Azu didn’t want to think about what a state she must have been in, tears staining her face like the blood covering Sasha’s.

“Alright Azu...” Sasha mumbled, words slurring ever so slightly. “You look like you've seen a ghost.” 

It was such a ridiculous response but so painfully, truly Sasha. Azu’s heart leapt in her chest and, before she knew it she was leaning forward, kissing Sasha for all she was worth. Sasha made a small noise of surprise against Azu's mouth before leaning in and kissing back, clumsily but with a passion that made Azu’s heart sing. Then the worry set in, and she pulled back.

“I-I'm so sorry, I should have asked, I shouldn’t have just kissed you like that-“

“It’s fine Az,” Sasha grinned cheekily, eyes lit with a spark that Azu hadn’t seen before. She immediately made a vow to see again. “Sides, I think I've wanted to kiss you ever since you showed up at my tower with a great big axe trying to kill my best mate.”

Azu couldn’t help but dissolve into laughter, her deep voice resonating throughout the room. Sasha joined her, and the two of them sat together amongst the rubble sharing in a brief moment of happiness.

***

Soon enough, their laughter died down, and they realised that sitting in a room that was literally falling apart around them was perhaps not the best idea. They dusted each other off, Azu giving Sasha a once over to check on her head injury. There didn’t seem to be any signs of concussion or damage – Sasha was just as clear headed and alert as usual. Azu pressed a single kiss to the scar the wound had left, both as a sign of affection and a thank you to her goddess, the one who had saved the woman she loved from almost certain death. 

Their mood sobered somewhat as they headed towards Barrett’s chambers. It was there where they were to meet up with the others after the invading party had cornered the Lord, and sure enough he was there, bound and gagged at the foot of his throne. The others stood over him, Ed's sword at his throat and Grizzop's bow pointed dead between his eyes. For someone who’d done such awful things and had held an entire town under his control for so many years, he didn’t look that impressive. Just a scared man crumpled on the ground, powerless for the first time in decades. Azu almost pitied him, before she remembered what he had done, not only to Ludenwic but to Sasha.

The woman herself was surprisingly quiet as she stared down at her uncle. Azu could only imagine the thoughts running through her mind, the mess of emotions that Sasha must have been feeling. None showed on her face, however. It was almost worryingly still, a blank mask settling over her features.

“Well, here he is.” Zolf said. “Mob got us through the door, and a few minutes ago every member of his guard who had been fighting us just froze up and turned on him too.” 

Azu smiled grimly. “That was us. He had some kind of spirit in there, made out of all the people whose memories he took. We convinced them all to fight back and... they did.” She glared down at the man by her feet. “They’re free now.”

All heads turned towards Sasha. 

“Well,” Grizzop said, his arrow still trained on his target, “what’d you want to do? He’s your uncle, and you’re in charge now.”

Sasha shook her head. “Nah. I've been thinking about it and... I can’t be in charge. I don’t know anything about ruling or helping people. Zolf, your lot would be over every week protecting my own people from me. We'll get someone else, someone who knows what they’re doing and will actually help. Someone better than him.”

Azu couldn’t help but smile fondly, a smile Sasha returned with a small quirk of her lip. The moment was interrupted, however, by Zolf clearing his throat.

“Still doesn’t solve what we’re doing with him. Not saying you have to, but Poseidon’s partial to the odd sacrifice every now and again, and I can’t think of many more deserving of it than him.”

Sasha shook her head. “If we kill him here, that’s just it. He dies, everyone moves on. Few years later, it all happens again. We need to let people know what happened, give them the truth.” It may have just been Azu’s imagination, but it felt as if her next words were directed at Eldarion. “People deserve to know what happened, after they’ve been lied to for so long. I reckon we take him outside, make him address the public and tell them what he’s done. Then they can decide what to do with him.”

Overcome with emotion, all Azu could do was reach out and squeeze Sasha’s hand tightly. Although the other woman’s gaze never left the crumpled form of Rackett, the answering press was enough to reassure her that the gesture was appreciated.

***

Barrett Rackett’s final fall from power was remarkably uneventful. After a speech to his former subjects, one that was almost entirely drowned out by the boos and yells of the crowd, it was decided he would be exiled from Ludenwic, never to return to his former seat of power again.

“D’you reckon he’ll actually stay away?” Grizzop mused, as the group watched the small figure of the ex-Lord retreat into the distance.

Zolf shrugged. “He knows it won’t end well for him if he doesn’t. He’s got no power, none of his former supporters, and he’ll be hard pressed to find another magic smoke monster or whatever the hell that thing was.”

“Besides, he’ll have to deal with an entire country of people who know exactly what he’s capable of.” Eldarion said, from where she was standing slightly behind the rest of the group. “I’ve sent word to all the biggest towns, and a letter to the Queen herself, warning them of his exploits. All of Albion will know to avoid him.”

Azu smiled. Sasha had clearly made the right choice, appointing Eldarion as the town’s new leader in her stead. Although it was clear that she was not forgiven for the years of deception, Eldarion had proven herself to be a competent leader and had, as it turned out, essentially been running affairs behind Barrett’s back for years, working with groups like the Harlequins to mitigate the damage caused by the Lord.

Now that she was free of the responsibility of running a town she had never been to, let alone properly trained to rule – despite Eldarion’s efforts – Sasha was suddenly facing a freedom she had never experienced before. She had confided in Azu the previous night, after the chaos of the coup had settled and they had retreated to one of the still intact bedrooms, that the thought terrified her slightly. The removal of all the boundaries she had chafed against but now no longer really knew how to live without loomed in front of her, like an endless sea.

“Before today, I’d never left my clearing, let alone the woods. Everything out here is just so big and open and… it’s so much, Azu.”

Azu had simply pulled her tight, applying the gentle pressure that Sasha had sheepishly admitted to rather liking, and rested her head atop Sasha’s.

“Wherever you choose to go, whatever you want to do, I’ll be there with you. I promise, Sasha. I’ll be by your side. Even if that means going back to your tower and curling up amongst all Hamid’s fabrics.”

That prompted a laugh from Sasha, a quick snort that Azu felt against her chest. “You can tell he’s a dragon can’t you, with all that hoard. We just to nick them from passers-by, anyone who was dumb enough to ignore all the burnt patches and the rumours of a ferocious beast for the sake of a shortcut. He’s not a half bad tailor, when he can be convinced to actually use the stuff and not just curl up in a ball on it.”

Azu couldn’t help but remember their conversation as she stood on the castle’s parapet with the others that morning, watching Hamid’s cloak flap in the breeze as he stared off into the distance. It was, she had to admit, a very well-made piece of clothing. Apparently, he’d mostly taught himself to sew, both by eavesdropping on his sisters’ lessons as a child and, later, stealing away the books Eldarion had brought over in an attempt to teach Sasha some practical skills. It had required far too much sitting still and concentrating for her liking, but Hamid had taken to it like a duck to water.

The halfling caught Azu staring and smiled. “Alright Azu?”

“Just wondering what happens next,” she replied.

Hamid blew a long breath and shrugged. “Absolutely no idea. I’d like to go back to Fustat, see my family again, but that might be a little difficult given, well, the fact I’m supposed to be dead. Wouldn’t want to bring any more shame on the family name.”

Azu frowned. “I don’t think there is any way they could be ashamed of you. You’re a hero now Hamid, you helped save an entire town from a tyrannical ruler. If they don’t see how incredible you are, and welcome you back as their son, then I will make them see sense.”

“Are you coming back to Fustat then?”

Azu paused. She hadn’t thought about what she wanted to do next, outside of spending time with Sasha and getting to know her. Presumably she’d have to return to the temple at some point, to complete her training as a paladin. Once, all Azu had imagined for her future was working for the temple, serving her goddess and being sent on missions to spread Aphrodite’s word. Now things were a little more complicated.

As if sensing her thoughts, Sasha wandered over, bumping her shoulder gently into Azu’s.

“I don’t mind coming back to Fustat with you two. I’ve spent three three years shut up in a tower, it’s about time I saw the rest of the world.”

“Are you sure?” Azu asked. “It’ll be a… lot, I don’t want you to be scared or overwhelmed.”

Sasha grinned. “I’m sure I’ll be okay. I’ve got you, like you said. ‘Sides, I kind of want to see what your temple has to say about you magically healing me with the power of love.”

The rest of the group stared in disbelief as Azu burst into laughter. The sound of her joy carried out over the rooftops of Ludenwic, alighting on the air like petals on the breeze. They floated past the ruins of the castle’s east wing, scorched and crumbling, and the large hole in the west wall. As they drifted up, up into the heavens, they caught the eye of a very particular goddess, one who smiled at the work her paladin had done.


End file.
